


Path Walker

by biggest_stupidhead



Series: Path Walkers [1]
Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Commander Erwin Smith, F/F, F/M, Female Hange Zoë, Furlan Church and Levi and Isabel Magnolia are Siblings, Hange Zoë & Levi Are Best Friends, Isabel Magnolia and Eren Yeager are Related, Levi & Isabel Magnolia Are Siblings, M/M, Mentioned Furlan Church, Mentioned Isabel Magnolia, Mikasa Ackerman & Levi Are Related, Minor Moblit Berner/Hange Zoë, Protective Annie Leonhart, Protective Levi (Shingeki no Kyojin), Titan Annie Leonhart, Titan Eren Yeager, Titan Shifters
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-06
Updated: 2021-02-18
Packaged: 2021-03-16 16:21:20
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con, Underage
Chapters: 9
Words: 29,274
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28584894
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/biggest_stupidhead/pseuds/biggest_stupidhead
Summary: A girl who knows nothing of her family or where she came from.A boy who comes from a long line of fierce fighters.Their paths cross when living in the Underground district, a place of filth, crime, and despair.She remembers snippets of her mother, a strong presence that she assumes was her father. Beyond those mere memories, she can recall nothing else. Instead she focuses on her survival in the harsh environment of the Underground. And she'll do whatever it takes to escape this hell and uncover her past.I do not own Attack on Titan or any of its characters, however I do own the original characters within this story.This story includes event that occur in the No Regrets OVA and the Anime.
Relationships: Annie Leonhart/Reader, Armin Arlert/Annie Leonhart, Krista Lenz | Historia Reiss/Ymir, Levi & Reader, Levi/Reader, Mikasa Ackerman & Eren Yeager, Mikasa Ackerman/Eren Yeager, Moblit Berner & Hange Zoë, Moblit Berner/Hange Zoë, Reiner Braun/Bertolt Hoover
Series: Path Walkers [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2094522
Comments: 8
Kudos: 48





	1. 1

I remembered feeling cold, laying in my usual alley I clutched onto the rag that I used as a blanket. I was only 9 years old, hungry and homeless, and now I was dying of disease. I was pitiful, balled up on the ground, laying in the mud. I vaguely recalled a boot tapping my hip, I flinched away, certain it was a Military Policeman.

"Oi, are you...alive?" the cold voice sent shivers through me, he sounded mean. I stayed still, my eyes wide with fear as I thought of the stories the other children had told me of men. The men in the underground took what they wanted. So I figured it was better if he thought me dead.

"I can see you breathing, what is your name?" he asked as he knelt down beside me. I allowed my head to turn and meet his eyes for the first time.

"Emory" I said, but it hurt to speak, my throat felt like it was made of razorblades and lined with gravel. The man raised an eyebrow at the sound of my frail voice.

"Where are your parents Emory? Is there somewhere I can take you to get taken care of?" the man pressed, I shook my head my eyes watering as I thought of how lonely I was. He sighed and stood back onto his feet, he rested his hands on his hips and looked back out onto the quiet street.

"I'll take you home with me, but once you're better you'll be back on your own." the man said, he stooped down and scooped me into his arms. I whimpered when he tossed the rag off of me with a look of disgust.

\-----

When I woke up I was in a bed, my hair was tied back off of my face, and a warm wash cloth was being pressed to my rosy cheeks. I licked my lips as I tried to sit up, a young girl pushed me down back into the stiff mattress.

"Don't try to move, just let me take care of you." she said, sounding a bit more aggressive than caring. I said nothing as she passed me a mug full of an earthy smelling liquid.

"It's tea, it'll make your throat better." she said as she held the mug to my lips. I opened my mouth and accepted the drink, my eyes widening as the flavor hit my tongue. She was right, even as the liquid went down my throat I already felt better. I sighed as I rolled over, I couldn't remember the last time I had felt this warm and cozy. I felt clean, my skin smooth rather than grimy, I was wearing an old but clean night gown, I smoothed my hands over the soft fabric in awe. The girl giggled and gently pushed me back into the pillow.

"If a grouchy man comes in don't be afraid of him, he just has a weird face." the girl said before getting up and taking out the tray of tea.

"What's your name?" I croaked, she paused by the door, her green eyes gleamed in the orange candlelight.

"Isabel." she said sweetly before exiting. When she opened the door I could make out the sounds of dishes clattering and a water pump being used. Odd, I must be in a nicer part of town for the home to have a pump. Usually multiple families had to share a water pump. I strained to hear the conversation through the door, I could at least make out 3 separate voices, one I recognized as Isabel, and another as the man who had collected me. The third voice spoke little but when he did it sent chills down my spine. Finally the pump stopped, and I could hear what they were saying.

"We can't keep her Farlan, she's just another snot nosed brat, if we go around picking up every kid we see we might as well open an orphanage." the voice hissed, silence followed his words and I cowered back into the pillow, pulling the blanket up so I could hide my face.

"Not fair Levi, I'm sure she can be of some use to us! Plus she's rather cute." Isabel said, followed by the sound of footsteps on the old wooden floor.

"I don't care what the brat looks like, we can barely feed ourselves no need for another mouth to feed." the third voice, Levi snarled. The room fell silent and I felt ice run through my veins.

"At least go look at her before you tell us we can't keep her, say it to her face that you don't want her." Farlan, the man who I presumed had initially brought me here said, matching Levi's venomous tone.

"Fine." Levi scoffed, I heard the sound of approaching footsteps and burrowed deeper into the covers. My heart raced when the door slowly creaked open, light spilling into the dim room.

"Oi, come out of there." his voice was close, definitely standing off to my left. I flinched when I felt his hand close around the blanket and pull it off of me. I yelped and snatched the corner before he could pull it away from my grasp.

"F-fuck off!" I squeaked, something that I had picked up off the streets, not that I knew what the words meant but other than to leave me alone. His eyes widened a fraction when I spoke, one of his thin eyebrows arching as he took in my appearance. I barely registered the sounds of muffled laughter as Farlan and Isabel chuckled in the doorway.

"Where did you learn to talk like that?" Levi asked incredulously, I shuffled backwards on the bed to put some space between us.

"It's what people tell me when I get too close to them." I admitted, whenever I would approach adults and sometimes older children they would use those words. Levi scoffed and sat down in the chair Isabel had occupied earlier.

"You shouldn't talk like that." he said, a frown etched deeply into his delicate features. I furrowed my brows, I had never had anyone tell me what I should and shouldn't do, I had grown up an orphan, only vague memories of my parents.

"You're not my dad." I said a wave of emotion overcoming me.

"No I'm not, and that's why you can't stay here, you don't belong with us." he said coldly, he stood and brushed past the pair in the doorway, who stood in shock as you watched him disappear. Isabel rushed into the room and sat on the bed, a sympathetic look on her childish face.

"I- He- I'm sure he doesn't mean those things, he can be a bit... shy when meeting new people." she said as I looked up at her expectantly.

"He does have a weird face." was all I said as she struggled to excuse Levi's harsh words. Farlan snorted and sat down in the chair next to the bed, his blue eyes turning soft when he took in my thin wrists.

"I'm sure he'll come to tolerate you." Farlan said, placing a hand on my back, he grimaced when he felt the ridges of my spine through Isabel's nightgown.

"Man kid do you want something to eat?" he joked despite the sick feeling that blossomed in his gut. I nodded and leaned into his touch subconsciously, he smiled and stood to go get me something while Isabel crawled under the covers with me.

"How did you end up all alone?" she asked as I settled into her side, my head resting on her chest.

"I dunno." I said, too focused on her heartbeat to listen to her question.

"Are your parents not around?" she pressed, I shrugged.

"Can't remember." I sighed as I nuzzled into her. She inhaled sharply when I let out a little sigh.

"Emory, please tell me what you know so I can help you." she said gently, craning her neck to get a glimpse of me.

"I don't know who my parents are, or where I came from, just that I'm here." I shrugged, breathing in Isabel's lavender scent. She tensed at my words and gently placed a hand on my shoulder.

"I'm sorry... how long have you been alone?" she asked quietly.

"Since forever." I said. Before Isabel could say anything else, Farlan returned holding a small loaf of bread.

"Here, I don't want to give you anything heavy incase you barf, that would be a waste." he chuckled as he handed me the bread.

"Oi you better not be feeding that brat in my bed, she'll get crumbs everywhere." Levi raised his voice slightly to berate you from the other room. Farlan smiled and pushed the bread into my hands, Isabel sat up and pulled me along with her. I bit into the bread not surprised to find it a bit stale. Farlan sat down on the end of the bed and watched me wolf down the bread.

"Slow down little girl!" he laughed as he watched me finish off the bread and wipe my mouth.

"That was good, thank you." I said before nestling back into Isabel. Farlan smiled, already feeling attached to the spirited girl.

"How old are you Emory?" Farlan asked, leaning forwards on the bed to get a peek at my face.

"Uh... I think I'm 9?" I said my face screwing up in frustration as I thought about my age.

"You think?" Farlan asked, raising an eyebrow and letting a smirk crawl onto his lips.

"Yeah, I'm not so sure but my friends are 9 so that must mean I'm 9 too." I said, quickly tiring of all these questions. Farlan laughed again, Isabel swatted him in the shoulder, jostling me as she sat up.

"Quit laughing at her she can't help it!" Isabel scolded. Farlan stuttered out a feeble apology as he struggled to stop laughing. But by the time he managed to apologize I was already slipping into the best sleep I would ever have. Isabel shushed him as she pulled me closer and rolled us onto our sides.

"I'm sure he'll warm up to her, how can he not? She's damn funny." Farlan said as he watched Isabel hold me close. She nodded in agreement as she brushed her fingers through my golden locks. I sighed in my sleep, feeling safe for the first time in my short life.

I miss them.


	2. 2

A grunt escaped my lips as I fell to the ground, Annie loomed over me her icy blue eyes burning into my own. I risked a glance at Shadis who lurked on the edge of the clearing with that brooding expression, those hazel eyes locked on Annie and I. Annie followed my gaze and smirked,

"Nervous Black?" Annie purred, leaning forward to hoist me up.

"Never." I snarled, swinging my fist in a wide arc, effectively clipping her chin. She stumbled backwards, surprised by my dirty attack. Shadis raised an eyebrow at this move, not necessarily an impressive technique but definitely unexpected. I gave chase, closing the space between us, forcing Annie to take a defensive stance. When I first started sparring with Annie she almost appeared bored, now she was wide eyed and very alert. I kept my elbows close to my chest as I scanned her small frame for an opening. Annie was about the same size as me, making us a relatively equal match. She danced back a few more steps, seemingly desperate to get away from my lightning quick punches. This time I allowed her to retreat, my cobalt eyes taking in the way her chest heaved and her hair was displaced and slipping from her low bun. The usually composed Annie Leonhardt was only slightly undone but all of your comrades took note. I allowed my eyes to scan the crowd that had gathered. Shadis had also snuck up on Annie and I, his features hard and unforgiving.

"Draw?" I asked, my voice coming out airy as I spoke. Annie nodded, her chest still heaving as she recovered from our tussle. The crowd let out some 'aws' and 'boos' due to our little show ending so abruptly. I dusted off my pants as the rest of the cadets dispersed as Annie and I recovered. Annie held her hand out and I took it, shaking it wordlessly before departing to find a new opponent. I halted abruptly when Shadis called out to me in that hoarse voice of his.

"Black! Your presence is requested in my office." he stood a distance behind me as I raised an inquisitive brow. Odd, sparring practice still had at least another hour. Surely he wouldn't leave the cadets unattended to hold a private audience with me? The thought made my stomach clench with dread, I learned early not to trust men. I paused before saluting him and giving a curt nod. I walked briskly over the training grounds, kicking up dust as I crossed the vast clearing. Finally I found myself in front of the small building that the superiors used to hold formal meetings and also were the few offices on the property were located. I paused, a carriage catching my eyes, a solider stood by the horses, holding the reins. I squinted trying to see the symbol on his military jacket. But he was too far away, and I wasn't very keen on getting caught staring at a stranger. So I walked into the building, heading straight for Shadis' office. I knocked on the door, not expecting a response since Shadis was supervising the sparring practice.

"Come in." I jumped at the sound of the deep masculine voice on the other side. My hand hovered over the knob, had Shadis set me up? Was I about to get thrown in jail? No I hadn't done anything illegal, at least not recently. Was Shadis conspiring with those notorious human traffickers? Was I being sold? No I need to chill the fuck out. I gripped the door knob and pushed the door open. My heart skipped a beat at the sight of Erwin Smith seated comfortably in Shadis' chair, although he rose as soon as I entered. I saluted him quickly, leaving my hand over my heart even though he had dismissed me.

"You gave me a heart attack, thought I was going to be sold into slavery." I sighed as I crossed the room and sank into the uncomfortable wooden chair across the desk. Erwin furrowed his eyebrows and fought a smile off of his lips at my words.

"Why on earth would you think that? Have you been so terrible that Shadis has resolved to slavery as a threat to make you behave?" Erwin asked raising a bushy brow. I scoffed and leaned forward in my seat.

"No, I've been quite good actually." I said proudly, a smile curving on my lips. Erwin smiled fully before turning his attention to a folder that sat on the desktop.

"I've come here today to remind you of the deal that you agreed to three years ago." straight to business, gotta love the guy.

"Yes I recall." I said leaning back in my seat. God has it really been three years?

"Your graduation is in exactly two weeks, and I am very pleased with your rankings." Erwin said as he flipped through the file, his blue eyes suddenly flickered to my face.

"Oh, well I wish I could've made top ten but..." I trailed off, a blush dusting my cheeks.

"Ranked 11th in your class, still an impressive feat, this is a very competitive group of cadets." Erwin said giving me a pointed look. I could only nod at his words, still confused as to why he had come all this way to visit me.

"Anyway, I just wanted to ensure that you would be joining the Survey Corps as arranged, I'm sure as you know our numbers have decreased significantly." he said, slowly standing up, his tall build did make him a bit intimidating. I lifted my head a bit higher in an attempt to meet the mountain of a man without standing. He placed a large hand on the back of my chair, I allowed my eyes to flit over his calloused hand for a moment before turning to meet his cerulean gaze.

"I am aware." I spoke curtly, growing tired of his condescending tone.

"We are in need of promising recruits like yourself and to see you slip into another regimen would truly be devastating. Besides..." his hand slid off the back of my chair and onto my shoulder. My blood ran cold as he leaned down to my level and tightened his grip on my shoulder.

"There's a certain someone who is expecting you." his words sent goosebumps up my spine. It had been three whole years since I had seen Levi. Now of course Erwin was using him as an incentive to stay true to my word. I tensed under his grip, but still managed to nod.

"Does he ask about me?" I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

"No... But I know he thinks about you." Erwin said, I nodded grimly, not really knowing what else I expected, he was kind to even add the last part. I laughed bitterly, "Why do I even bother." I cupped my face in my hands and slowly drug them down my cheeks. Erwin still held my shoulder firmly.

"Just uphold your end of the deal." he whispered, with a final squeeze he released my shoulder and returned to Shadis' seat, sinking into the back rest.

"Don't worry I will." I said, my own sapphire eyes narrowing as I spoke lowly. He waved his hand, dismissing me. I turned and quickly left without saluting him, a small act of rebellion. Gods, fuck that, did he really doubt my integrity so much to make a journey out here to ensure that I remembered the deal? Outrageous, I didn't even want this I never wanted to be a solider. I was only a child when this deal was made. By none other than Isabel, which is the only reason why I have decided to uphold my end.

When Levi, Farlan, and Isabel had been arrested Isabel begged Erwin to go back to the flat and bring me with them, at first he refused. But then when he learned that I was twelve years old he changed his mind. Why you might ask? Simply because he realized that he could make me a solider, a pawn in the fight for freedom. So exactly one year after my family's arrest he returned and gave me false documents, freeing me from the underground city. I stumbled, leaning against the railing of the dining hall, so engrossed in my memories that I failed to see a large rock in my path.

I blinked, the images of the dank city still dancing across my mind. I looked up at the sky to see the sun sinking lower, dinner would begin soon. But my stomach was churning with nerves as I thought about the place I had grown up and the people who had ensured my survival. Isabel, Farlan, Levi, they had saved me gotten me out of that hellhole. Now only two of us remained and he couldn't even fucking write me. I straightened up, pushing off the railing I stormed back towards the barracks, a new found rage instilled in my chest. Or maybe it wasn't new at all, maybe it had always been there, a nagging in the back of my head. Levi was never keen with me, but surely he cared enough to at least ensure that Erwin fulfilled Isabel's wish. But then again maybe he only enforced the deal to honor Isabel?

I frowned, Isabel was one of the few people who showed me kindness during my short life, she was like a big sister to me. I finally found myself struggling to open the door to the barracks, my hands shaking with emotion. With a final shove I pushed into the room, the bunk beds all made with care. I flopped onto my bunk and buried my face in the stiff pillow. I allowed a few small tears fall into the fabric before I finally pulled away from the pillow and breathed a heavy sigh. I looked down where my pillow once rested to see the carefully folded paper that I kept stored underneath the pillow. I gingerly unfolded the worn parchment with shaky hands. My shoulders sagged when I finished, the image that stared back at me made my heart ache. A drawing that Farlan had done only a few weeks before everything changed, a family portrait of sorts, you and Isabel between Levi and Farlan, Levi was drawn with a slight curl of his lip, his own way of smiling. 

Isabel looked vibrant and full of life, Farlan looked cool as a cat, and I looked like a snotty brat with missing teeth and ratty hair. At the sight of my messy hair I recalled I memory of Isabel attempting to comb it to no avail, Farlan tried and also ultimately failed. But Levi pinned me to the ground and viciously raked the brush through my hair, and succeeded in detangling the mess. You didn't talk to him for a week after that. A shaky breath left my lungs as I focused on Isabel's wide eyes and the way Farlan's had an arm carelessly thrown over my shoulders. What I wouldn't do to feel his warmth by me again, admittedly I'd had an innocent crush on Farlan. It was only natural seeing as he was the one to take me in so graciously. I yelped when the door banged open, quickly stuffing my precious keepsake back under the pillow. Ymir padded in first, her arms folded behind her head, Krista followed closely after her. Mikasa wandered in after the odd pair along with Sasha and Annie brought up the rear. The lot of us occupied this small section of the barracks, Annie was the only one to spare me a second glance before tossing her jacket onto the bed above mine.

"What did Shadis do with you?" she asked indifferently, such an odd tone that made me think she didn't really care, but still bothered to ask the question.

"He did nothing, it was an old acquaintance of mine that requested my presence." I said throwing my legs over the edge of the bed. Annie raised a brow but didn't question any further, she set to work on unbuckling her harness, and shortly after, stripping her white jeans off. When she tossed the clothing onto the ground a strange scent washed over me. It smelled simply raw a foreign scent that I had never caught a whiff of before. Just as quickly as it had drifted under my nose it was gone, leaving an odd feeling in my stomach. Hm how odd, I thought as I watched Annie pull on a pair of loose pants. Just as I opened my mouth to ask her if she had found a new perfume or something Sasha plopped down on my bed. 

"Sorry you couldn't come to dinner, I saved you a little something though!" she beamed as she pulled a half eaten loaf of bread out of her jacket pocket. I couldn't help but smile, in an odd distant way, she reminded me of my dear Isabel, kind and hard headed.

"Thanks Sasha, I appreciate that." I gingerly accepted the gift, and took a bite out of the loaf. Sasha looked pleased with herself, she got up and left me alone on my bunk, Annie crawled up onto the top as I dusted crumbs off my bed. Come to think of it, that scent from earlier was familiar, maybe she used the same soap as someone? No it wasn't a manmade scent, it was strange but somehow I knew that it was uniquely her. Like pheromones or some shit, my nose wrinkled and suddenly I felt over powered by the scent. I looked up to see Ymir passing, her shoulders pulled back proudly. What the fuck, man they reeked how had I never smelled it before? They smelled like sweat mixed with an earthy musk, my eyes watered as the smell continued to overpower my senses. I fell into a sneezing fit shortly after Ymir had walked back to her bunk, drawing some curious glances my way as I continued to sneeze my brains out.

"You alright down there?" Annie asked, her head dangling upside down to look at me underneath her.

"Fine, just.... Allergies." I sniffled, rubbing my arm discreetly over my nose partially to wipe snot away and also to protect it from her scent. Annie brushed her bangs off her face to get a better look at me, her brows pinched together and her mouth opened slightly as if she was about to say something.

"Lights out cadets!" Shadis banged on the barracks door loudly, shutting up every girl in the room. Mikasa got up and extinguished the torch, plunging the room into darkness. I heard Annie settle back into her bed, and I followed suit, my nose still burning from the stench.


	3. 3

*This chapter takes place after the events at Trost* 

My eyes watered as I watched the bodies burn. The scent of burning flesh filled my nose as I knelt down onto one knee. I couldn't tell if they were emotional tears or just watering because of the smell. It was strange but my nose was really sensitive lately, my eyes flickered over to see Annie, Bertoldt and Riener standing not too far away. I turned to see Jean to my right, he kissed his closed fist as tears ran down his cheeks. Connie sniffled loudly and Sasha hiccuped. I cleared my throat as a few rogue tears slipped down my own cheeks. The last 24 hours were arguably the worst in my life. I had watched countless comrades fall to the titans, and now Eren was apparently some freak of nature. Well I mean I knew he was a bit unhinged but I definitely didn't think the dude was a titan. 

I stood, not bothering to brush the ashes off of my white trousers. I turned and stalked down the empty street, which had served as a battle ground earlier. My hair swayed as I made my way back to HQ where we would be bunking for the night. I paused at the sight of a tavern, the warm light that seeped out of the saloon style doors and the sound of hearty laughter reminded me of my upbringing. I was used to adults being drunk, and I knew how to avoid them as well. I lingered outside the door a moment longer before continuing. As I walked I stuffed my hands into my pockets of the leather trainee jacket. The night was cold despite it being summer, or maybe it was in my mind. Regardless I shivered and picked up the pace. I was exhausted and ready to put all of this behind me, fulfill my promise and all that bull shit. 

"Hey Emory! Where are you going?" A sweet voice called from behind me. I turned around and felt my eyes widen at the sight of the golden girl, Krista Lenz jogging to catch up with me. 

"Hey." I murmured when she caught up, turning to continue. 

"What's wrong?" she asked as she matched my pace. 

"Nothing, just tired." I lied as she laid a gentle hand on my forearm. 

"Did you hear? We're shipping out in the morning for the Scouting Regiment's head quarters!" she said, those baby blue eyes shining in the moonlight. 

"Yeah I heard." I said, licking my lips as I turned to face forwards again. 

"I'm a bit nervous but I hope that they let Eren join still after... you know" she trailed off as I pursed my lips in thought. 

"They have to let him, he's sure to be a useful tool. " I said grimly. Her grip tightened on my arm and her eyes widened. 

"Right, I just hope that he can persuade the jury tomorrow at the hearing. " she said, a bit of an edge on her usually light tone. I wasn't sure what to say, so I stayed quiet, the two of us walking down the dark streets. We reached the large castle, and entered the main room was empty, but a warm light spilled from the mess hall. Our eyes met and I knew that she wanted to peek in the room as well, so we both veered off course to poke our heads into the cavernous room. 

"-I think that should count as an assist! I clearly had the situation handled." a loud voice boomed, breaking the relative silence of the building. Krista flinched against my side, causing me to let out a small huff. She looked up and smiled bashfully. 

"No, I had the situation under control, besides Levi had the most kills." a feminine voice cut in, and the sound of glasses clinking and grunts of agreement. Krista peered around the thick stone corner and gripped my wrist as she eavesdropped. Levi huh? Couldn't be my Levi, could it? Only one way to find out. I poked my head around the corner and immediately cursed my curiosity. Sure enough a group of soldiers, scouts to be exact sat in the mess hall drinking mugs of golden ale. All except for one person, Levi opted for a dainty cup of what I assumed was tea. My heart hammered in my chest and I felt like I was going to ralph at the sight of the steely eyed man. I swallowed and ducked back behind the wall, Krista's grip tightened on my wrist. 

"What's wrong? Are you going to faint? Please don't faint!" she begged shaking me as she spoke, my vision swam as I remembered my past in the underground. Krista raised her voice as her concern for me grew, her blue eyes were wide as she continued to drill me with questions. 

"Answer me Emory please, I know we're about the same size but I won't be able to carry you if you pass out!" she cupped my cheek as I slumped forward and buried my burning face in the crook of her neck. A shaky breath escaped my lips as I hugged Krista and fought off the tears. I know I know it's dramatic but usually I didn't experience these emotions. I usually turned tail and ran in the opposite direction when I thought of Levi and the note that our relationship ended on. But I like to believe that the fresh trauma and the old trauma was a bit overwhelming in the moment. 

"Woah Emory! Please tell me what's wrong so I can help you!" I shook my head and swallowed thickly. 

"I don't know what came over me, I think I just need to get to bed." I said pulling away from the smaller girl. She gripped my biceps as she watched me straighten up and inhale deeply. 

"Oi, who's out there? Cadets are supposed to be in bed." the callous voice echoed off the stone walls and I felt the feeling of dread wash over me again. Krista looked at me with wide blue eyes before answering shakily. 

"S-Sorry, we were just on our way there actually! Pardon the intrusion!" she called around the corner without looking, praying that they would leave it at that. Silence. I grabbed her wrist and pulled her past the door with a sudden rush of confidence. She stumbled after me and I felt like Ymir, who was known for hauling the poor girl around. I felt like I was wading through molasses as I walked past the huge doors, my eyes wide and a bead of sweat rolling down the back of my neck. Krista yelped as I gripped her wrist and we stole up the carpeted staircase and up towards our rooms. I released her at the top of the stairs and continued to walk briskly towards my quarters.

"Emory, oh my god are you okay? Please I'm really concerned about you!" Krista called after me as I pulled the door open to my room that I shared with Annie open. She ducked in behind me and quietly closed the door. 

"Please you can talk to me, I'm your friend." Krista begged, as she moved to sit next to me on the bed. 

"I'm sorry Krista, I think that everything just hit me and..." I trailed off, wow I just realized that I am in fact a terrible liar. I heaved a sigh of defeat. 

"Do you really want the truth Krista?" I asked, turning to face her with a grim expression, her face was open and accepting as she nodded slowly. 

"Please that's all I am asking for." she said, turning to face me full on, I mirrored her so that our knees knocked, licking my lips I prepared myself. Krista would be the only other person besides Erwin to know that I am from the Underground. 

"I...I am not from around here, I had to....make sacrifices to get into the trainee corps." I paused gauging her reaction, she nodded understandingly, her eyes urging me to continue. 

"I lived in the Underground before I managed to score a deal, citizenship if I agreed to join the Survey Corps." I said, clenching my jaw as I gauged her reaction. 

"The Underground?" she said with wide eyes, there it was the pity. It was clear across her face and I hated it. 

"I don't want your pity." I said, my eyes drifting to the window to look at the starry sky. She let out a shaky breath but nodded in understanding. 

"So did you know Levi?" she asked, desperate to hear more.

"I guess you could say that." I chuckled, my eyes falling to my lap where my hands were laced together. 

"We um...we knew each other. " I admitted, now she would know. I was weak, the sound of his voice was enough to throw me off balance. How pathetic. I clicked my tongue and swiveled my head to face her again. She was silent, her eyes wide and shining with...admiration? She opened her mouth to speak but before she could say anything she was interrupted by the door creaking open. Annie stood awkwardly in the threshold, her own blue eyes scoping out the situation. Krista stood up and sighed. 

"Well I had better be off, I'm sure Ymir is wondering where I am!" She sent me one last look, I couldn't quite decipher what she was feeling as she brushed past Annie and out into the dark hall. Annie shut the door after her and stalked into the room, bringing her over powering scent with her. I couldn't help but wrinkle my nose as she peeled her soiled jacket off of her shoulders. She raised a delicate brow at the expression on my face. 

"What?" she asked, her voice hinting at her annoyance and exhaustion. 

"I-" In yet another moment of confidence I decided to ask her about her smell. 

"I was wondering why you smell the way you smell." it came off ruder than expected but how are you supposed to ask someone that question without being rude? I certainly don't know. 

"What smell?" She asked, obviously self conscious, she lifted her arms and smelled her pits. 

"I can't explain it but I just noticed it a few weeks ago." I shrugged as I watched her pick up her jacket and inhale deeply. 

"I don't smell anything, is it a bad smell? Do other people talk about how I smell?" she asked with her eyes every so slightly wider than normal as she pulled at her usual hoodie. I held my hands up and waved them in an attempt to calm her down. 

"No I mean I haven't mentioned it to anyone, and nobody has asked me about it so I assume that it's just me." I said, watching as her posture became more rigid. 

"Well what does it smell like? I would expect at least Sasha to be able to smell whatever it is as well. She's got a great nose." Annie asked skeptically as I chewed on my lower lip. 

"I guess if I had to describe it...I would say you smell like this crazy mix of herbs and...dead leaves?" I said, unsure of how to describe her musk. Annie's usual stoney expression fell right off her face as she blinked at me with surprise. 

"Am I really the only one that smells like that?" she asked as a shadow fell over her face. 

"No, Ymir smells weird and so does Bertholdt and Reiner. And Eren come to think of it." I said, my head tilting to the side as I took in her thoughtful expression. 

"Odd." she spoke tautly as she slid off her white pants and into some sweats before falling into bed. I stood and tensely undressed, I was fatigued both mentally and physically. A sudden wave of embarrassment washed over me when I remembered the way I had dragged Krista in front of the superior officers. I fell into bed, staring up at the wooden rafters until I reluctantly slipped into unconsciousness.


	4. 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The beginning of this chapter hints at sexual assault so if that bothers you scroll through the first few paragraphs.

I fell into a muddy puddle, my cheeks hot with embarrassment. My blue eyes burned holes into the boy's knees as I contemplated my escape. 

"Are you going to cry little girl? Go ahead I know you want to!" He sneered, lifting his boot to kick me square in the chest, pushing me onto my back. I fell with a pathetic thud, my head landing in the puddle. I could see the loose ring of bystanders that had gathered to watch this pathetic brawl. He stepped painfully on my collar bone, leaning down he gripped my face in his calloused hands, turning it this way and that. 

"Tell you what, highest bidder gets her for the night!" He yelled, the crowd whistled and began calling out bids. How did I get here? I whimpered when the boy leaned more of his weight onto my chest causing me to wheeze pitifully. 

"Not so tough now that your friends flew the coop huh?" he sneered as I gripped his ankle. 

"Listen I need higher bids! She was one of Levi's up and comings after all!" I cringed at the mention of Levi, he wasn't necessarily popular with everyone, and I could only imagine what people would be willing to do with me, one of his loyal followers. The crowd exploded at the mention of Levi and began calling out higher numbers. Finally the boy stood and hauled me with him, tossing me into the waiting arms of a group of men. 

"No wait please!" I begged as they dragged me away from the rowdy crowd. I dug my heels into the ground in an attempt to slow them, but it was fruitless. They hauled me into a nearby tavern, pulling me through the bar and back to where the women who worked there did business if you catch my drift. I screamed until my throat was raw but nobody came to rescue me. They left me there after they tortured me and assaulted me. I came to the realization afterwards that I was completely alone again. For the second time in my life I had been abandoned and left to rot in the streets. Only this time I knew the people who abandoned me, and I trusted them, hell I loved them. Still I ended up shivering in the back of some whore house, with a chest full of broken ribs and a broken heart. 

I sat up, awakened by the sounds of Annie shuffling through her belongings as she prepared to leave. I glanced out the window to see that it was in fact still dark, today was the day that I would face my past. With a sigh I hauled myself out of bed and began packing my belongings, not that I had many. I changed quickly and pulled my hair back in a loose ponytail. Annie left without saying goodbye and I would be lying if I said that it didn't hurt my feelings seeing as this was likely the last time we would see each other since we were joining different branches. I left the room shortly after her, apparently at the same time as Ymir and Krista. Ymir shot me a look of loathing as I joined them to descend the stairs. Krista cleared her throat awkwardly as we reached the foot of the stairs where our comrades were already congregating. Mikasa nodded in my direction and I returned the gesture. Armin waved, Sasha was too busy looking into the mess hall to notice our arrival. Riener and Bertoldt were eyeing me with suspicion and I returned their gaze. Before they could say anything a commanding officer gave us permission to begin breakfast. We all formed a line and got breakfast, while we were eating another commanding officer interrupted and called for Mikasa and Armin's presence at the trial this afternoon. I raised a brow at Jean who only shook his head as they left the mess hall. 

"I doubt that Eren will make it out of this one." he said grimly. I snorted, it was so like Jean to come for Eren even after his heroic demonstration the other day. 

"I think that he will pull through." I said, taking another big bite out of my loaf of bread. 

\--------------------------

Sure enough word reached the fresh recruits that evening that Eren had been won by the Survey Corps. He was already on his way to the Survey Corps HQ, a whole slew of soldiers accompanying him. The rest of us were to arrive the next evening, the Corps left a handful of veteran soldiers to supervise the new corp of recruits. Unsure of what to do with our newfound free time, we decided to spend most of it in the mess hall talking and trying to lighten the mood. The day passed slowly and the events of the night prior played on repeat in my head. Oh god so embarrassing, my cheeks flushed as I averted my eyes from Connie who was in the middle of telling a story. Instead I favored the view of the floor, my face was so hot as I thought about how stupid I must have looked in front of the superior officers. 

"Emory?" Sasha sounded reluctant as she spoke, still I ripped my gaze from the floor and back to the group of cadets. 

"Hm?" I hummed, trying to play off my red cheeks and ears. 

"Would you like to tell us a story?" she asked, offering me a crooked smile. The others nodded in agreement, and urged me to speak. I looked down at my cold soup and frowned, realizing that Sasha must have had some without me noticing. 

"Oh um let me think." I said, my mind desperately grasping for a funny memory. I sat up a little straighter when I remembered the time that I had cursed at Levi when he told me to clean the floors and he had dunked my head in a pail of dirty water. Or the time that Farlan had thrown me into the middle of the street to act as a distraction and Levi had to save me from being trampled by a startled horse. Those were pretty good. I decided on the horse one. 

"Well when I was little, I grew up in a rough area. I was a thief, I was an orphan and these thugs took me in." I said, looking up to gauge my comrades reactions. They looked at me with shining eyes, looked like they were easy to please. I risked a fleeting glance at Krista and Ymir, Krista nodded for me to continue. 

"There was this one time that was set to be a distraction so my friends could steal from a merchant's cart. Well I was to collapse in front of the cart and block them from moving forward. One of my friends pushed me in front of the cart, I spooked the horse and almost got flattened like a pancake. But my other friend managed to grab me before I could get trampled." My eyes shined as I recalled the events, making sure to not mention names. Krista's eyes gleamed with that admiration again as I told my story, she knew who I was speaking about. My comrades laughed and begged for more thug stories, and complained about having to wait so long before finally hearing them. I shook my head and told them that when the time was right I would reveal more. So they moved on to the next topic, I slumped back into my seat, relieved to not be in the spotlight anymore. 

\-----------------------

I shifted, the leather saddle squeaking beneath me as I moved. The insides of my thighs ached from being in the saddle for so long, we were told we were almost there but it couldn't be over soon enough. My horse was a beautiful grey, with a silver mane, I was still considering a name for him, but right now I felt compelled to call him Stinker. He seemed to pass gas every other step and he was very ornery. Jean laughed again as Stinker passed gas and I groaned loudly, slapping my palm over my face. 

"Ugh stop it's so embarrassing!" I moaned as Connie imitated the fart sounds, Sasha was laughing hysterically and even Armin cracked a smile. Finally the peaks of a great stone castle could be seen, the veterans poured on more speed and finally we had arrived. First we removed all the gear from our mounts and set them out into the stables. Next we were given our squad assignments. I was listed under Hange's squad, finally we were allowed a small amount of free time. I dreaded the moment that I would breath the same air as Levi so I clung to Ymir and Krista, hoping to look busy so nobody approached. But alas my luck ran out. Levi's squad returned from their patrol mission and all of the cadets swarmed around Eren. I was about to join them when a heavy hand landed on my shoulder. My blood ran cold as I turned around to see who had a hold on me. I sigh of relief escaped my lungs when I was met with a familiar set of blue eyes and bushy brows. 

"Don't scare me like that!" I hissed as I turned to salute him. He nodded and waved off my salute, a small smile curving onto his lips. 

"I'm happy to see you as well Emory." He smiled down at me as spoke. He made me feel small, I bit my lip and glanced back to see that Eren was still occupied. 

"Congratulations on your graduation, I'm relieved to see you with all of your limbs after the recent events..." he trailed off as my eyes glazed over at the memory of the battle of Trost. 

"Yeah me too, and thanks I guess." I muttered, crossing my arms over my chest and turned slightly away from him defensively. 

"Go, be with your friends." he chuckled waving me off with a tight lipped smile, I lingered a moment more sensing that he had more to say. 

"Seriously go, I fear that Levi is getting the wrong idea." he said, nodding his head over towards the Captain, who was loitering by the stables with a black mare. His eyes widened when you met them, but just as soon as it was there it faded back into his usual disinterested stare. I whirled back around to face Erwin and before I could contemplate my actions I took a step closer to Erwin and looked up at him with pleading eyes.

"Commander please don't make me talk to him, I really don't want to." I clasped my hands together as I pleaded for the commander to do something anything to save me from what was certain to be an awkward conversation. Erwin blinked at you before a wide grin graced his features and he let his hand fall on to my shoulder and squeezed. 

"Oh Emory, I can't save you from that, but I can put it off. Come with me let me show you around." He said kindly steering me away from the courtyard and towards the entrance.

Hange snuck up on Levi in his moment of weakness as he watched with dead eyes as Erwin whisked Emory away into the castle. Her hands landed on his shoulders and he jerked away from her with a huff. 

"What did I say about touching me? Disgusting." He spat as he dusted off his shoulders while Hange smiled manically at him. 

"Whatcha doing short stuff? You look extra grumpy this evening." she cackled as he pulled his mare into the stables and she followed faithfully. Determined to get a rise out of the captain.

"How did Eren do on patrol?" she asked as Levi peeled his saddle off the mare. He clicked his tongue and shrugged. 

"Fine." man he sure was cranky Hange thought to herself as she watched Levi quickly put his horse away. 

"No seriously what's gotten into you short stack? Talk to me I can make ya feel better." she stood between Levi and the exit, mostly poking fun at him at this point. 

"I suggest you move before I break those shitty glasses of yours." he snarled as he took another step towards the mad scientist. She threw her head back and let out a cackle as her cheeks flushed red. 

"Oh Levi you always know just what to say!" She stepped aside and fell into step with the shorter male. He was making a beeline straight for the castle and she followed suite. 

"Where are we going hm?" she hummed as they pushed through the large oak doors. The parlor was empty, but the glow coming from the mess hall proved that dinner had began. The two superiors were just about to turn into the dining hall and join the others when a hearty chuckle was heard from the floor above. Levi paused and propped himself casually against the stone wall. Hange raised a skeptical brow but copied him, crossing her arms as she waited for the people to descend the stairs. She recognized Erwin's laughter and the sound of a female protesting. 

"-Commander! It is not like that I promise! You put words in my mouth!" the feminine voice echoed through the parlor as they paused half way down the stairs, she could see their boots now. 

"You implied it, I just clarified what you were saying." Erwin defended himself, another chuckle passing his lips easily. Odd, the commander was often very professional, what soldier was able to so effortlessly coax laughter from him? Levi shifted next to her and she caught sight of a small bead of sweat rolling off his neck and disappearing under his collar. 

"Whatever you say..." obviously she was comfortable around the commander so obviously not a cadet. But Hange blinked in shock when they strolled into sight, her jacket had the trainee corps crest on her sleeve. The pair paused again and Erwin shook his head a breezy smile on his lips. 

"You'll do just fine Emory, you have grit and a great intuition." His hand landed on her shoulder and slid down to squeeze her bicep before releasing her and turning to head back up the stairs. The young woman stood for a moment with a puzzled look on her face, Hange licked her lips in anticipation as she took in the girls features. A set of dazzling blue eyes, pink lips and some of the curliest hair she had ever seen. Said locks were barely being confined in a loose ponytail that swayed when she walked. It was clear that she hadn't noticed the odd pair yet, so Hange held her breath as she waited for the girl to make a move. Finally the young woman turned and began to walk briskly towards the mess hall. She stopped her eyes locking on Levi and she turned to retreat immediately. 

"Oi! Get back here." Levi snarled, his brows drawn together and his fists balled at his sides. She stopped dead in her tracks, her form rigid as her fight or flight kicked in. 

"Beat it shitty glasses." Levi hissed and jammed his thumb towards the mess hall. Hange shook her head and inhaled sharply. 

"No I don't think that I will, any young woman who can coax a smile from Erwin is a woman I'd like to meet." she tried to sound light, to encourage the girl to not take off in a dead sprint away from the veterans. You remained still as a statue as Levi stopped about six feet away from you, clicking his tongue he shifted his weight awkwardly. Hange blinked, catching the flash of uncertainty in his eyes before he spoke. 

"What are you doing here?" he asked, his words dripping with acid. Hange was surprised when the girl didn't flinch, but she turned around and saluted him and then Hange. 

"I was going to get dinner captain." she spoke, her words were cool and controlled. Levi narrowed his eyes and tilted his head downward as his steely gaze fixed on the blond. 

"So what is your name again?" Hange chuckled anxiously as she stepped beside Levi. The girl's eyes remained fixed on the captain, her expression was unreadable. 

"Emory Black." she said, dragging her cobalt gaze over to Hange, a chill ran up Hange's spine. This girl was what 17? And she was already so composed, it was damn terrifying. 

"Ah Emory! I do believe you are in my squad!" Hange closed the gap and held out a hand to shake Emory's. After a moment of hesitation she grasped Hange's and shook it briefly. 

"Yes ma'm I am." Emory said, her eyes darting over to Levi, her expression still unreadable. 

"How exciting, I just know that we will get along splendidly!" she spoke in a high-pitched tone due to the high tensions of the situation. Levi clicked his tongue as he took another step towards Emory, the girl winced at his motions and took a step forwards as well, standing closer to Hange than she expected the new recruit would be brave enough to. She bared her teeth in an almost animalistic manner, her nose wrinkled as if his very presence offended her. 

"That's close enough Levi." she snarled, the sudden aggression took Hange off guard and she whipped her head to her right to see Levi's response. He didn't seem to mind the insubordination one bit. 

"Tell me what you're doing here brat." he growled, his steely eyes burning into the young woman's own sapphire blue eyes. 

"I am here for dinner is that not enough for you?" she snapped suddenly weaving around Hange and briskly walking away from the pair. Hange looked between the two in shock, she had never seen Levi act so out of pocket before, much less such a ballsy cadet. 

"Wow she sure is fiery isn't she?" Hange chuckled nervously as Levi's jaw clenched tightly. 

"She's nothing more than an ungrateful piece of shit." Levi snarled as he turned to retreat to his office. Hange gasped at his words, how did he know her? Why was she so mad at him? Why was he so mad at her? Hange realized too late that she looked absolutely idiotic standing in the middle of the empty parlor, so she decided to retreat to the mess hall. She singled Emory out immediately, she had two trays as she headed towards the exit again. Hange grabbed her bicep gently, "We will need to talk about that. Insubordination is intolerable Black." Hange said sternly. The young woman nodded, "I understand ma'm, I need to get this to the commander now, but if you wish I can meet you in your office if you just tell me where it is?" She spoke rather maturely, once again catching Hange off guard. 

"O-Of course..." as always quick on her feet, Hange decided to give you directions to Levi's office, hopefully the two of you could come to a civil agreement without intervention. 

"Third floor in the west wing, it's the first door on the right." She said, releasing her bicep and continuing into the mess hall. 

______

I sighed with relief, my heart only just beginning to beat at a healthy rate. That was exactly what I didn't want to encounter. I knew he would be pissy with me like always. My very existence is disturbing to him, an inconvenience. I stomped up the stairs, luckily Erwin's office was on the same floor as Hange's, so I wouldn't have to go too terribly far out of my way. I kicked the door, pursing my lips as I waited for a response. 

"Come in." Erwin's smooth voice sounded muffled behind the thick oak. I precariously balanced the tray on my forearm as I turned the knob and entered, kicking it shut behind me. My hair was beginning to slip out of its hair tie, I blew a frustrated huff of air in an attempt to push it out of my vision. 

Erwin smiled at the sight, he had to admit that she had aged gracefully, from a scrawny street rat to a promising young soldier. No, a promising young woman. Her eyes were focused on clearing space for his dinner on his messy desk. An extra tray rested on one of the chairs that were on the opposite side of his desk. Did she plan to eat dinner with him? 

"You didn't have to do this Emory." Erwin said as she pushed the tray towards him. 

"I know, I just needed an excuse to see you again." So blunt. 

"Really, why is that?" he asked as he picked up the spoon she brought him and began sipping the stew. 

"Because I acted out of turn, and I wanted to be the one to tell you." She said, her features were tense, he could tell she was uncomfortable admitting that she was at fault. 

"I see." Erwin said, setting the spoon down in the murky stew. 

"I was insubordinate towards Captain Levi earlier, and Squad Leader Hange." I mumbled, my eyes falling down to my lap where my fingers twitched nervously. To my surprise Erwin reclined in his chair and beamed back at me. 

"I'm not surprised at all. I guess I'm only shocked that it happened so soon." Erwin chuckled as he gauged my expression. 

"So you aren't mad at me?" for some reason I felt the need to please this man. A feeling that I wasn't at all familiar with. He shook his head and took another bite. 

"No not at all, I'll let you off with a warning this once. But I expect you to apologize to both of them and work out some form of agreement with Levi. Set boundaries." He said, voice stern and commanding. I nodded, grateful for the pass. 

"Of course sir!" I stood and saluted him, turning to leave. 

"Emory! Why don't you have dinner with me? I'm sure Levi and Hange can wait." I sank back into my seat and pulled my tray into my lap. This was a bit awkward, I shoved a spoonful of stew into my mouth and averted my eyes from Erwin's intense gaze. He was tearing his bread apart and dipping it in the stew, his eyes still locked on my form. So weird, why was this so uncomfortable? I felt so exposed, like a nerve. Dinner couldn't end soon enough. Luckily I was a fast eater, and Erwin excused me as soon as my plate was empty. I offered to take his plate but to my surprise he refused and offered to take my plate. 

"It's only fair, you brought me dinner, the least I can do is clean up." he said, blue eyes flashing in the candle light. 

"And you have some errands to run before curfew." Erwin raised a brow and shooed me out of his office. I paused on the outside of his office, trying to remember where Hange's office was and wondering if she would be back from dinner yet. I walked slowly through the empty halls, my eyes drifting around the damp walls, a weird feeling was overcoming me. A sense that could only be described as impending doom. I paused outside of the door that Hange had claimed to be hers. A soft flickering flame of a candle could be seen under the crack. So she was back from dinner. Perfect. I raised my fist and knocked lightly. 

"Name and business." I gasped, Levi? Why was he in her office? 

"Emory Black, here for.... um business?" I face palmed at my poor choice of words, grimacing at the silence that followed. Finally I heard the wooden screech of a chair being pushed out and the slow familiar foot steps, and finally the sound of a lock being turned, and the door swung open. He was already on his way back to his desk by the time I gathered enough courage to step into the tidy space. I watched him sink into his chair and return to his paperwork. I stood awkwardly by the door before opting to close and lock the door. 

His grey eyes glanced up at the sound of the lock sliding back into place. I stalked across the room and begrudgingly saluted him. If one thing was for sure, it was that I had learned from my mistakes and I did not intend on allowing him to manipulate my emotions. He glared up at me, those dead eyes seemed a bit colder then I remembered. And just like that I was a kid again, and Levi was scolding me for something I had done that he deemed unsatisfactory. I swallowed thickly as his eyes held my own, his gaze was unwavering as I stood by the chairs, shifting my weight as I waited for him to speak. I finally let my eyes drop, my ears growing hot as I felt a blush coming on. He was going to make me speak first. 

"L-Listen I...I'm sorry about disrespecting you earlier. It was inappropriate of me." I managed to choke out as I squeezed the back of the chair. He leaned back in his own seat, eyes narrowing as he took in my appearance. This was the closest we had been in about 6 years.   
________

He took in her features slowly, she used to be so thin, but somehow she'd filled out, with muscles no less. Her face was similar, although she had a new edge in her eyes, a sadness that he couldn't quite place. His eyes wandered down the column of her neck, settling at the hollow of her throat where a golden pendant rested, rising and falling with her ragged breaths. He took in her collar bones, which where exposed in the semi low cut top she wore. He could just make out the familiar bruises that all soldiers had from using the ODM harnesses. His gaze flicked quickly over her chest, not flat, but not full. Her abdomen was clearly toned and his gaze lingered there as he watched her breathing. He couldn't see her legs but he could imagine that they were well muscled as well. He looked back up at her face, pleased to see the crimson blush that covered her cheeks. 

"You've grown." He mused, ignoring her apology for now. 

"No shit." she scoffed, eyes widening once she realized how disrespectful she was being. 

"Always had a dirty mouth." Levi shook his head as he continued flipping through his paperwork. She sank slowly into the wooden chair, her eyes were wide and her lips were curved into a frown. Levi risked a peek over his paperwork at her and returned the frown that graced her lips. 

"You look like you're just shit your pants, what's wrong?" He asked, her tongue darted out and licked her lower lip. 

"I said I was sorry..." she said, her eyes locked on his. 

"Yeah I heard." he said, beginning to get annoyed. 

________

"Are you going to accept my apology?" he leaned back in his seat, his head resting against the back of the chair, he turned his face to peer out the large window behind him. Giving me an exquisite view of his creamy neck. He took it a step further by pulling his cravat off and folding it neatly on his desk. 

"Not quite yet. Maybe after you do me a favor I can find it in my heart to forgive you." he spoke slowly and my heart fell into my stomach. Was he insinuating that I....... 

"What kind of favor?" I asked, my face openly showing the terror I felt. 

"Cleaning, maybe filling out some paperwork." Levi responded quickly, noting the way her shoulders fell at his words. 

"Oh...I can do that." she said, leaning back in her seat and resting her head against the back. 

"If you couldn't I would be concerned." he said, leaning forward and continuing his work. 

"Here, fill these out for me." he tapped his pen on a tall stack of papers. I reached across the desk and pulled the papers towards me. 

"Can I have a pen or something?" I asked a bit timidly. He silently reached into his drawer and handed me a pen. I tried my best to avoid touching his fingers but failed, his fingertips were cold in comparison to my clammy hands. But if he noticed, he did't comment on them. I set to work, stumbling through the paperwork, my upbringing didn't exactly give me the best education. So reading and writing took a bit more effort. I squinted at the paper, cocking my head to the side as I tried to understand what was to be filled out.

________

Levi paused, he had already filled out two papers, he had noticed that she remained on the first page. He frowned as he watched the girl hold the paper up to the candle that was burning on his desk. 

"Problem?" he drawled as he watched her blush at being caught. Huh, somethings never change do they? 

"Uh, could you explain this to me? I-I've never done this before." she admitted sheepishly. Levi sighed, leaning back in his seat and lifting his hand, curling his fingers in a 'come here' type motion.

She stood, rounding the desk with the paper and pen in tow. She placed the paper down on the desk and leaned forward, resting her weight on her hand that was placed on the desktop. Levi dragged his chair closer, he swatted her hand and she immediately pulled it back. Instead she favored to kneel down and rest her arms on the desktop. He frowned at the sight of her on the ground, although he knew that the floors in his office were probably the cleanest in the castle it was still the floor. Didn't seem to bother her though, her eyes were fixed on the paper, as if I was willing it to fill itself out. With a sigh Levi picked up my pen and edged closer, awkwardly resting his right arm over my own to write on the paper. 

"All you have to do is check deceased and then..." he trailed off as he signed the paper with his loopy cursive. Her blue eyes looked up at him with a look of shock. 

"What? I can't write in cursive! Much less regular print." she admitted, her head bumped his bicep as she turned to look at him with wide eyes. 

"How on earth did you make it through the exams they give you brats?" he asked, genuinely curious. 

"I barely passed! And Shadis had to tutor me a bunch..." she chuckled nervously and Levi frowned. He remembered learning to read and write, Hange had been the one to teach him. Had he been illiterate when he was her guardian he would have taught her the skill. But alas that was not the case. He was just pleased that he had the opportunity to do it now. A form of apology for leaving her so many years prior. He slid the pen into her fingers before reaching for a blank sheet of paper. 

"Wha-" 

"If you're going to make your insubordination up to me you're going to have to learn how to read and write effortlessly." he said as he guided her hands on the correct way to grip the pen. 

"Make sure that you hold it tightly or else your penmanship will be sloppy." His voice was gravelly as he basked in her warmth. He remembered when she was small and how filthy she was. He remembered bathing her with Isabel and Farlan, it was clear that she was not used to bathing as she bit him so hard he bled. He blinked and suddenly he was back in the Underground, the memory that came to mind was the time she refused to scrub the floor and he thrust her head into the dirty bucket. Ah yes a great memory, she didn't talk to him for at least a week after the incident. Isabel and Farlan made sure to make him feel guilty about it too, so much so that he ended up offering an apology to her. He let go of her hand as she began to scribble her name on the paper, testing her grip on the pen. He feared that he owed her yet another apology, but how could he apologize for something that had been out of his hands? 

______

"Good." my chest burned with pride at his praise. I felt like a little kid again as I practiced writing out my alphabet, and with Levi so close to me it reminded me of the nights the four of us would sit on the couch. Usually I would end up by Farlan. But some nights I would sit by Levi, he would throw his arm over the back of the couch and I would pout, pretending to loathe being in his presence. But the truth was that I wanted his praise, to satisfy him, his acceptance. Now I know that my actions may contradict my thoughts a bit here, but you should know by now that I am beyond stubborn, driven mostly by my pride. I felt Levi's breath stir the hair on the top of my head as he peered over me to watch me scrawl out the words he gave me on the paper. Maybe this wouldn't be the worst punishment for insubordination after all. 

______

Hange pressed her ear against Levi's door, her heart swelling as she heard him coaching the young soldier. There had to be history between the both of them, Hange just knew it. She pursed her lips, if she listened closely she could make out the sound of pens scratching on paper. How had you managed to reign in those fierce emotions that were boiling over earlier this evening? Admittedly she was impressed with the young woman's ability to compartmentalize her emotions, or at least appear to have them under control. Hange felt an overwhelming wave of excitement wash over her as she thought of all the possible training exercises she could run Emory through to strengthen her already impressive skill set. This was going to be the beginning of a beautiful companionship between Hange and the spit fire soldier.


	5. 5

The air whooshed out of my lungs when I hit the ground. My eyes widened as the dull knife hovered above my throat. 

"Too slow, stand up we're running through this until you get it." Levi growled as he pulled the blade away from my throat. My lungs burned as I tried to pull air in. Levi stood a few feet away, I finally managed to sit up and glare up at him. 

"I'm tired Levi." I whined as I rubbed the back of my head, not surprised to see the blood left over on my palm when I withdrew my hand. Levi scoffed, sliding his knife into his belt he stalked back over to me. If I remember right I was about 10 years old, I hadn't had a good breakfast, at that point in my life I don't think that I even knew what a good meal looked like. Levi only growled as he grabbed my wrist and hauled me onto my feet. 

"I don't want to hear your whining." He snarled as he dragged me through the street, leaving the small dusty cul-de-sac that we trained in. I stumbled after him, my head pounding from being knocked into fucking next year. We weaved through alleys, avoiding the busy main streets that the MP patrolled. 

"Wait Levi slow down I'm really dizzy." I begged to him as he pulled me past a group of squatters roasting rats on sticks over an open flame. The men looked up when I spoke, their dirty faces breaking out in sneers at the sight of us. 

"Hey pal you mind sharing some with the rest of us?" one of them called out to Levi as we turned the corner. He paused, pulling me closer to him so that now instead of gripping my wrist he held my tricep in a death grip. I winced, a small whimper escaping my lips as I looked up at him. 

"You're still too slow." he snarled, and to my surprise he swept me off my feet and held me in his arms. I yelped, my vision spinning at the sudden movement, I grabbed a fist full of his shirt as I focused on not hurling. Levi frowned down at me, my eyes squeezed shut and my head resting heavily on his chest as he walked quicker through the allies. After a couple more twists and turns we arrived back at our flat. He opened the door and kicked it closed behind him, the sound of dishes being washed and Isabel and Farlan having one of their usual spats. 

"Woah what happened to you?" Farlan asked, his slightly damp hand burying in my rats nest of a mane. 

"I wouldn't touch her head, she hit it pretty hard back there." Levi said as he sat down on the couch with me still in his arms. 

"Oh, I see. I'll go get the kit." Farlan sighed as he turned to go get the first aid kit. 

"What'd you do to her Levi?" Isabel asked with a defeated sigh. 

"Guess I tossed her a little too hard." Levi admitted as Isabel pulled my head off Levi's chest so she could examine my face. I whimpered, squeezing my eyes shut, the light seeming more bright than usual. 

"Where does it hurt?" she asked as she turned my face from side to side to get a better look at me. 

"I believe it's the back of her head." Levi said, turning me in his arms so my face was nestled in the crook of his neck, exposing the back of my head so Isabel could see the wound. 

"Ah I see it. Damn next time be more gentle she's just a kid Bro." Isabel scolded as she pulled my hair off the wound, the sticky blood making her task difficult. 

"Found it!" Farlan said in a singsong voice as he reentered the room with the kit. He placed the case on the coffee table and began pulling out gauze, a bottle of alcohol, and a salve.

"Now, what are we looking at here?" Farlan asked, his voice mostly directed to me as he leaned forward. I felt his palm splay out on my back as he leaned in to inspect the cut. 

"Ah, I hate to say it Emory but it looks like we'll have to shave your head." he said grimly. I moaned shaking my head, burying my face further into the welcomed darkness that Levi's neck offered. 

"Please no, don't cut my hair." I whimpered as I turned to risk a glance at Farlan who smiled impishly at me. 

"Aw don't sweat it Emory, we wouldn't do that to ya." Farlan patted my back and chuckled as he reached back for the alcohol. Isabel held as much of my hair back as she could and placed a towel under my neck. Farlan poured the alcohol onto my wound and I reached up to squeeze Levi's shoulder with a hiss. After he cleaned the wound to his satisfaction he reached for the salve, smearing it on the broken skin as well as he could I yelped when he pressed too hard, a few rogue tears sliding down my cheeks and onto Levi's shirt. 

"Sorry, bear with me sweetie." Farlan murmured as he finished smearing the antiseptic onto my wound. I felt my cheeks flush at the nickname, but didn't get to appreciate his words because next thing I knew he was wrapping my wound up in gauze. I sniffled as Levi gently propped my head up so Farlan could wrap around the front of my head. 

And that was how I got my first ever concussion. 

\--------------------------

I shifted my weight from foot to foot as I watched Hange and Mikasa demonstrate a hand to hand combat move. One that I already knew, it was simple really, something that we had done in the training. One recruit would have a wooden knife, and the other cadet had to disarm them to come out victorious. I was focused on who I wanted to be my partner, seeing as how my usual partner was no longer in my regiment. I frowned at the thought of Annie, I wondered how she was doing, was she making friends? I hoped so, I realized that I missed the cold girl. She was probably the closest person to me, she didn't share much with me and I didn't share with her but that's what made it work. We got each other, we vibed. I jumped when a heavy hand landed on both of my shoulder, breaking me from my reverie. 

"What do you say Emory? Will you be my partner?" Riener asked, leaning down to speak to me. I scowled at him, and his hands flew off of my shoulders. 

"Fine." we turned and assumed our fighting stances. I held the knife in my fist comfortably. Riener's face paled when he saw how comfortable this stance was for me, the knife clutched naturally in my hand, perfectly balanced (even though it was wooden). 

____

Levi folded his arms across his chest as he watched the fresh recruits begin to spar. Hange jogged up to him and stood to his right. He had looked over the paperwork that Shadis had sent in and he knew that there were only a few cadets who were exceptional in hand to hand combat. As he scanned the open field that the Scouts utilized as a sparring ring he saw plenty of sorry excuses of a fight. Until his eyes fell on Emory and a brute of a cadet. The larger male was forcing her on the defensive despite her having the wooden knife in her fist. Hange jabbed him in the shoulder with her elbow as she gestured towards the pair. 

"Woah look that them go!" she squealed as Emory jabbed the wooden knife at Riener's exposed stomach, just missing as he threw his weight to the ground in a last ditch effort to avoid the attack. She snarled and dove after him, pinning him under her weight as she thrust the blade down, pausing above his throat. She leaned forward and whispered something in his ear, her golden chain and pendant dangling over his chin as she leaned in. The male's eyes widened and he swallowed thickly. Emory stood up slowly, still clutching the knife, she turned and stalked away from the boy on the ground who still looked a bit dumbfounded. Another male came to help the blonde to his feet, this one was yet another giant, with black hair and a squirrelly aura. The blond rubbed a pensive hand over his throat as he watched Emory approach Armin, a scowl on his features. The dark haired boy leaned in and whispered to the blond who shook his head, Levi was about to call out to them and remind them of their task when the pair began to spar. Hange was smiling in the direction of Emory who was guiding Armin in how to grip the wooden knife. 

"She'll make a great squad leader one day." Hange said nodding confidently in her words as she watched the girl make a jab at Armin who winced, a sheepish smile on his face as Emory laughed. 

"Maybe, if she lives long enough." Levi replied darkly. Hange scoffed at his macabre attitude. 

"Lighten up Levi, have some faith." She said before going to compliment the girl on her skills. Levi sighed, if only Hange knew how impulsive the girl could be.Rolling his eyes Levi decided he should go be productive and finish some paperwork. Hange could handle the brats for the rest of the afternoon. 

_____

I wiped the sweat off my brow as I looked up to Hange for her approval. The brunette nodded, pleased with my performance, I gave Eren an apologetic frown at the sight of his shocked face beneath me. I felt a bit bad for using the dirty trick on him but in the end it was his fault for missing the signs leading up to it. I offered him a helping hand which he accepted, the rest of the recruits look just as exhausted as I felt. I noted the group of veterans that had gathered to watch the younger soldiers brawl. A small woman with strawberry blond hair was watching Eren closely. 

"Someone's got a crush on you Jaeger." I whispered in his ear jabbing a thumb in her direction. He gasped and shook his head vigorously. 

"No you've got it all wrong! She's assigned to make sure I don't shift out of turn, one of Levi's best." He said nodded in the direction of a rag tag group of soldiers, all focused on the two of us. 

"Huh, interesting." I said brushing off my pants, Eren still stood by me, panting as he recovered from out tussle. On the other hand I remained composed, having barely lifted a finger in order to subdue the boy. The wind picked up a bit, blowing Eren's scent in my direction. My nose wrinkled involuntarily as the scent of burning wood and freshly churned earth assaulted my nostrils. 

"Alright rookies that's enough! Off to dinner with your sorry asses!" Hange yelled waving the recruits out of the clearing. Eren sighed in relief, "Well I'd better get going, I'm supposed to sit with Levi's squad..." I smiled at his words and simply waved as he made a beeline to the group that had so intently watched us earlier. 

The mess hall was loud as the soldiers piled in and lined up for their meals. I was one of the last in line, waiting for the same meal I'd been eating for the past three years. Not that I'm complaining I mean any food is better than none. Hell I would know. I thanked the soldiers serving for the night and paused as I surveyed the tables. I smiled at the sight of Krista waving me over. I walked down the aisle in between the tables, I almost made it before a hand caught my elbow, almost making me drop my tray. I didn't need to turn around to realize that it was Reiner who had a hold on me. His earthy scent floating up my nostrils. 

"Sit with us for a minute." he ordered. My eyes narrowed as I glanced down at Bertholdt who was already seated. Not wanting to cause a scene I dropped into the open seat next to Riener. 

"Look around you. What do you see?" He asked, his own eyes scanning the room. I took in my surroundings, wondering how I was supposed to answer his question. I saw Sasha and Connie bickering, Mikasa smiling at something that Armin had said, Jean watching Mikasa. I saw Ymir glaring at me, and Krista was babbling on about something to Ymir. I saw Hange and Erwin seated at the head of a long table that was filled with superiors, including Levi. 

"I see people eating. What about it?" I asked glaring at the male. He frowned, clearly displeased with my answer. 

"Do you want to know what I see?" he asked, the torch light catching his intense golden eyes. I nodded, not sure if I really wanted to know. 

"I see a bunch of scared creatures fighting a hopeless battle." he said, his gaze leaving my own to scan the room again. Bertholdt cleared his throat and leaned forward. 

"Riener w-what are you getting at?" he asked, a bead of sweat trailing down his face as I squinted at the mountain of a man. 

"I'm saying....That you need to stay sharp Emory. Consider that you could fight for the winning side, not the loosing one for a change." Bertholdt gasped and I swear I was going to chew a hole through my lower lip as I tried to understand Reiner's mysterious words. 

"I don't understand Reiner." I said shaking my head Bertholdt nodded in agreement. 

"Same I don't get it." he said before pressing his lips together in a thin line. 

"All I'm saying is that you have a choice, and I'm urging you to pick the one that allows you to obtain your birthright." I grunted and furrowed my brow, he really sounded like a crackpot right now. 

"Reiner are you asking me to forsake humanity and follow my own selfish agenda?" I asked, lowering my voice to a whisper so no other soldier would overhear. The blond nodded, glancing at Bertholdt who was now sweating profusely. 

"I am." he said, leaning in to whisper to me. I grunted, averting my eyes, what an odd piece of advice. Did he really think so little of me? 

"Look just because I was a criminal in my past doesn't mean I don't want the best for humanity." I said, my eyes glimmering with anger. 

"Why fight for a cause that has been nothing but unkind to you?" He asked, almost sounding desperate. 

"Wait, what exactly is my birthright huh?" I asked a small smile curving onto my lips as I leaned back. 

"Your birthright is to be free." he said like it was the most obvious thing in the world. 

"Free of what?" I whispered, my eyes now wide at how deathly serious he was being. 

"Free of the humans." Suddenly the room was silent, the din of the room fading into the background as all I could hear was the ringing in my ears. Was Reiner calling me a monster? Was he referring to himself as not a human being as well? 

"Reiner you're starting to concern me." I hissed, leaning forwards again, pushing my tray out of my way. 

"I'm the one that should be concerned, you don't even know what you're capable of yet." he snapped, I licked my lips waiting with bated breath for his next words. 

"Emory you need to do some soul searching, and when you figure it out I want you to come to me. Understood?" He spoke darkly, and my heart practically stopped. None of this made any sense. 

"Do you want to know why we "stink"? Ask yourself why you're the only one who can smell us." He pushed on, my vision felt spotty as I let out a shaky breath. Why was that?

"I-I don't know what you're talking about." I gasped, standing up abruptly and fleeing the table. Neither of the males stopped me as I made my escape. I sank into the seat next to Ymir, the same earthy musk permeating off of her skin, but not as overwhelming as Annie, Reiner, or Bertholdt's scents. 

"What's wrong? Those boys giving you a hard time?" Ymir teased, leaning over to jab me in the ribs. Had Annie told them? That was the only explanation, she must have told them before we left for our respective regiments. 

"Actually yes, they were." I responded as I rubbed my wrist, allowing my eyes to drift back to the boys who still seemed to be locked in an intense conversation. Krista frowned in their direction and Ymir's lips curled into a smug smirk. 

"Boys will be boys." She said in a singsong voice as she slapped me across the back. Krista's frown was now pointed at Ymir. 

"What did they say to you Emory?" Krista asked, her blue eyes shining with concern. 

"They....Basically accused me of not being human." I admitted. This wiped the smug look off Ymir's face immediately, and Krista's mouth screwed into a rare scowl. 

"Not human huh?" Ymir hummed thoughtfully, her golden eyes glaring at the pair. 

"Why would they accuse you of such an awful thing?" Krista asked, and all I could do was shrug. 

"I told Annie the other day that she smelled weird, and that Reiner and Bertholdt did too, as well as Eren and you, Ymir." I licked my lips before continuing. 

"I guess Annie told them, and they pulled me aside and asked me if I wanted to be free of the humans. Like they weren't human either." My eyes were wide as I opted to look at the grooves in the wooden table instead of their faces. 

"I stink?" Ymir asked, offended. I could only nod. 

"Not in a bad way I guess, just different than other people." I shrugged, finding it difficult to put the sense into words. 

"So maybe you aren't human, or maybe you're just a weirdo like squad leader Mike." Ymir said with an amused huff. Krista looked back at the boys before back at me. 

"What do I smell like?" She asked and I grimaced. 

"Like....You? I don't know." I admitted as I covered my nose self consciously, a deep blush dusting my cheeks. 

\-------------------------

Ymir scoffed, her golden gaze glinting as she took in Emory's appearance. Her eyes caught on Emory's strong jawline and her waves of golden hair. She wasn't of the walls, Ymir had always known this, weather the Emory had known or not was uncertain. But now she knew that Emory was in the dark. Having lived for as long as she had Ymir had the privilege of seeing some crazy shit. Titan shifters, mass genocide, you name it. But she had only heard rumors about the beasts that hid among humans. Not titan shifters, not Eldians, but a clan of creatures that held the ability to contort their bodies into animals and other beings. She couldn't recall what their name was but she could remember the legends. They were crazy strong, strikingly beautiful and extremely cunning. Most thought them to be nothing more than that, legends or figments of the imagination. However some swore on their existence, and now Ymir could see why. Emory certainly was beautiful, and strong, and apparently her senses were heightened, it wasn't that far fetched of a theory. But the real concern that bubbled into Ymir's chest was when Emory would tap into her ability. And how would the Eldians perceive her? She decided that she would do as she had done this whole time. She would watch and wait to see the outcome without interfering. Of course this means that her suspicions were in fact true, Reiner and Bertholdt were not from Paradis Island either, and they too possessed the same powers as she had. Titan shifters, here to sabotage the Eldian's chances of survival against the mindless titans. Would Emory side with them, or the Eldians as Eren had? Things were just getting interesting, Ymir smirked, leaning back into her chair as she settled in to bear witness to the upcoming events.


	6. 6

I went to bed hungry after having left my dinner at Reiner's table. Of course I couldn't sleep either. Stuck staring at the wooden bunk above me. For a moment I forgot that it wasn't Annie sleeping above me, but when I heard Sasha pass gas loudly I remembered. I frowned and swung my legs over the bed and stood quietly. The female barracks were silent save for Sasha's snores and Mikasa's twitching, her leg slammed against the foot of her bed loudly. I scanned the room, pausing on Krista and Ymir's bunk, I almost yelped at the sight of Ymir sitting upright, her golden eyes trained on me. Without a word she climbed down and stalked across the room, breezing past me without a second glance. I needed to follow her. So I followed the towering female our of the barracks and across the grounds to a large grassy hill. I stood a few feet behind her, not wanting to break the silence. She sank down into the damp grass and tilted her head towards the starry sky. I closed the space between us and slowly lowered myself beside her. 

"Do you ever wonder what will happen after we reclaim the land beyond the walls?" Ymir asked after a few heartbeats. I sighed heavily and studied her sharp, almost wolfish features. 

"I do." I admitted, my blue eyes glinting in the pale moonlight as I watched Ymir lean back, resting her weight on her hands. 

"What if I told you that I'd seen it. The out side. The ocean." She breathed, so low I could barely hear it. 

"You mean like...In your dreams or some shit?" I asked, watching her golden eyes study the sky. 

"No, I've seen it." she said simply, her eyes finally turning to look at me once more. 

"How?" I questioned, my hand impassively reaching to cover her own lithe fingers. 

"I was banished here, I wondered aimlessly for 60 years believe it or not." she was speaking nonsense. I cocked my head as I listened to her speak. 

"I don't expect you to believe me but.. I want you to show me what you really are." Her golden eyes shone with so much emotion that I knew she was speaking the truth. 

"How, this is me." I said, gesturing to my chest. I was many things but a liar wasn't one, unlike Ymir here who apparently had lied to my face the whole time I had known her. 

"No, there's more to you I know there is." She said her eyes wide as she held my hand tightly. 

"Try, dig deep, think about an instinct that's deep below the surface, something that's been dormant your whole life." She urged, her grip becoming painful as I tried to pull back. I felt like I was going to barf, I had no clue what she was talking about but I felt compelled to try. So I closed my eyes and tried to follow her suggestions. But I didn't feel very different. I shrugged hopelessly, her golden eyes flashed with frustration as she averted her gaze back to the stars. I sighed, relieved to be free of her nagging. I fell backwards my back hitting the ground with a thud as I relished the feeling of the night air on my skin. 

After that night I remained glued to Ymir and Krista, much to Ymir's displeasure. I figured that they were the most trustworthy of all of the 104th corps cadets. Eren was such a hot head, Mikasa and Armin his loyal followers, both too starry eyed with him to see his toxic qualities. Reiner and Bertholdt were both shifty, loosing my trust after that whole fiasco in the mess hall. Conny, Sasha, and Jean were relatively harmless, also loyal to the cause that had been planted in their heads. So yes in the end I chose Ymir and Krista to rely on for comfort and other things... Krista was babbling on about something as I swirled my spoon around the porridge that we ate every morning for breakfast. Ymir was idly listening to the small blond, meanwhile I was too concerned with the heavy glares that Reiner and Bertholdt were sending my way. I forced some porridge and a few bites of bread down my throat. Just as I stood to take my tray up I felt a hand on my shoulder. 

"My office tonight, we have work to do." his deep voice startled me. I jumped, the tray rattling as I turned to shoot him a glare. 

"Yes sir." I managed to turn and nod to him respectfully. He nodded, pleased with my response, he turned on his heel and left the mess hall with the other veteran soldiers on his squad. I dipped my head slightly a small sigh of relief escaping my lips, Levi's presence always put me on high alert. Even after all these years, I still felt like he was going to pull the same shit he used to, like oh I don't know, smash my face into the ground or into a bucket of dirty water. A shiver ran down my spine at the memory, absolutely disgusting. 

"Oh you little kiss ass." Ymir cooed, her elbow digging into my ribs, I scowled and Krista giggled. 

"Shut up." I mumbled, my eyes drifting back to my now cold porridge. 

"Emory what kind of work will you be doing with the Captain huh?" Ymir continued to pry, her golden eyes gleaming as teased me relentlessly. 

"Don't know." I grumbled around the mouthful of porridge. 

"Just watch out for Petra, she'll probably throw hands with you for the Captain's affections." Ymir smirked at the way my face screwed up in disgust. The day that I fought for any man with another woman would be the day that I crawled into a hole and perished. I rolled my eyes and grabbed my tray, not planning on giving her a response. 

"Hahaha yes run away little tramp." Ymir chuckled, raising her voice so that it carried across the busy mess hall. Krista hissed, her hands grasping desperately across the table to cover Ymir's lips. 

"Ymir! Don't say that!" She pleaded, her blue eyes wide. Ymir dodged her grabby hands and turned to watch me turn in my tray and make a beeline for Hange's office. It was only the beginning of the day and being on Hange's squad I had a lot of assisting to do. Lot's of important work and all that jazz. I rapped on her door with my knuckles, my eyes wandering down the hall to where Levi's office resided. The door swung open and I jumped a bit, Moblit's eyes were wild and he quickly grabbed my wrist and tugged me into the spacious room. Hange's 'office' was really an insane combination of a laboratory, small library, her room, and a small desk that was piled high with unfinished paperwork. 

"I'm so glad you're here." Moblit sighed, his eyes shining as if I was his savior. 

"Um." 

"Here you can start by cleaning these beakers, and then you can begin organizing those papers for me to finish filling out." He rambled, thrusting a box of glassware into my arms as I nodded. 

"Oh ok." 

"Make sure that there are no dishes in the sink when you clean those, the chemicals could get stuck on the plates and we wouldn't want anyone getting sick or worse...." His eyes glazed over as he pictured what the possibilities could be if the dishes were contaminated. 

"Understood sir." I smiled at him and turned to make the trip back down the stairs to the kitchen. The glass tinkling with each step, I blew a strand of loose hair out of my face, rounding the corner to enter the back of the kitchen. I paused, the kitchen was empty except for Conny and Sasha, Conny was busy finishing up dishes while Sasha sat in front of the pantry, tears in her eyes. 

"But Conny, I promise I'll just have one loaf." she sniffled, I rolled my eyes and continued into the vacant room, setting my box down on the counter by the sink. 

"You and I both know that you have no self control!" Conny yelled over his shoulder as he dried the last plate. 

"Besides we have to go meet Eld and run through that ODM exercise in the next 20 minutes." Conny added as he set the plate on the rack. 

"Fine" Sasha moaned, Conny picked her up off the floor and the odd pair stumbled out of the kitchen, leaving me alone. I frowned at the charred bottoms of the flasks and beakers, and the sticky residue that clung to the test tubes. I set to work, soaking the glassware in warm soapy water, rolling my sleeves up I submerged my hands and began scrubbing with an old rag. The residue was oily, making it very difficult to remove, meaning I spent about an hour longer doing Hange's dishes than planned. Finally, after the glasses were all washed and then towel dried, I carefully loaded them back into the box and began the hazardous trek back to Hange's lab. I gently nudged the door open with my foot and carefully rounded the corner, my eyes focused dead ahead, the terrible image of me dropping the box and glass scattering everywhere plaguing my mind. I climbed the stairs without any problems, but once I rounded the corner to enter Hange's corridor, I saw Levi and his squad coming my way. They were drenched in sweat, a tired glaze covering their features. I bit my lip, wondering how I was going to salute with my arms full, I simply stood straighter and lifted my chin in acknowledgment. 

"Cadet, don't forget to meet in my office after dinner." Levi waved off my salute, the others snapped out of their daze, heads snapping to look at the cadet that he had so casually addressed. 

"Yes sir." I said, my eyes quickly averting from the small strawberry blond who was eyeing me curiously. Levi nodded, pleased with my response his squad mates frowned at me, and I trained my eyes on Levi, ignoring their judgmental stares. 

"You may have to speak to Hange about that actually, she has me...busy." I furrowed my brows and glanced between Levi and the box in my arms. His eyes narrowed at the box before returning to my face. 

"Stupid shitty-glasses, tsk. I'll stop by to get you when I'm on my way back up." Levi sated, once again waving his hand to dismiss me. I nodded and murmured an 'excuse me' as I brushed past his squad and continued on my way. I kicked the door, seeing that my arms were still occupied. 

"Would you get that Moblit?" Hange hollered from inside the room. The door swung open and Moblit's eyes widened when they landed on the glassware. 

"Woah Emory, amazing work! They look good as new!" Moblit remarked, eyes shimmering as he took the box from my hands. 

"Thank you sir." I couldn't help the smile that crept onto my face at the praise. Moblit began shelving the glassware, while I sank down onto the couch, the small coffee table littered with Hange's papers. I began sorting for Moblit, I could hear Hange mumbling to her self in the back of the room, her eye trained on a specimen under the microscope. I fell into an easy rhythm, documents that needed a signature to the left, and everything else to the right. Finally I had finished, looking up to see that Moblit was attempting to pry Hange away from the microscope and convince her to go for dinner. 

"I could go grab dinner for her if you'd like." I offered, glancing up from the papers. Moblit's shoulders sagged, his face relaxing and his eyes shimmering once more. 

"Really? Wow I am so glad that I am not the only one babysitting Hange anymore!" He exclaimed, turning his attention now to organizing Hange's numerous textbooks. 

"I'll be back shortly." I assured, rising from my seat and slipping out of the office. I walked quickly through the halls, the orange glow of the sunset seeping through the large window at the end of the hall, giving the stone walls a warm hue. Gosh I would never get used to how bright the sun was, and I would never not appreciate all of the unique hues that it could create. I continued through the castle, down the steps and back into the mess hall. I glimpsed my peers, already seated with their meals, all of them looked exhausted. Except there was a certain brunette missing. Eren, I finally spotted him seated with Levi and his goons. Why wasn't he with them earlier? Odd, I knew that Levi was in charge of the hot head, but I was so focused on him to notice Eren's absence earlier. I shrugged, unsure of what to make of the situation and instead focused on the task at hand. I stood in line, rocking back and forth on my heels impatiently, I was trying to think of the logistics of carrying three trays when I felt a strong presence behind me. I turned around and frowned at Reiner, 

"Sup." I grunted, turning back to face forwards. 

"Hey Emory." Berthtoldt murmured from behind Reiner, who remained stony, golden eyes burning holes into the back of my head. Thankfully I got the food quickly and asked for two servings on one tray so that it would be easier to carry. I walked briskly out of the mess hall precariously balancing the trays. I swear that I had never walked so fast, eager to finish eating and hopefully be dismissed from my duties. I didn't bother knocking this time, pushing into the office and quickly setting the tray down in front of Moblit. He smiled at me and set the papers aside. 

"Thanks again Emory! Hange come eat." Moblit called, I turned to look at a mountain of books with a mop of brown hair just barely peeking over the top. 

"Sure in a minute." Hange's voice was muffled from behind all of the books. I sank down next to Moblit and began to eat as well, after a few minutes Hange's hunger won over her workaholic tendencies and she joined us on the couch. We ate mostly in silence but it was nice, for some reason the dinner tasted better tonight. I sat my spoon down once I had finished and sat back on the couch, sighing contently. Hange smiled at me and mirrored my actions, her brown eyes glinting in the candle light. 

"Squad leader, are you ready to call it a night?" Moblit asked around a large yawn, Hange glanced at the clock on the wall and frowned. 

"It's only 8:30 Moblit, I'll just take a nap and then get back to it." She leaned her head on my shoulder and I stiffened at the contact. 

"All right then..." Moblit smiled at us before taking the trays back down stairs to be washed. Hange surprised me once again by throwing an arm across my stomach and a leg over my lap. I yelped but didn't fight her, she sighed again and pulled her glasses off her face. 

"Take a nap with me Emory." She mumbled sleepily into my shoulder. I bit my lip, this was weird I barely knew this woman, but then again I was feeling awful drowsy. 

"That's an order Emory." Hange stated as she closed her eyes and nuzzled deeper into my shoulder.

So I let my head rest against hers and closed my eyes, she squeezed me tightly, pleased with my decision. I fell into one of those sleeps where you're not totally asleep, but you're definitely not awake. I could feel Hange twitching, and the scratch of Mobit's pen on paper, and feel his elbow occasionally bump into my side when he reached for another document. I was finally slipping into a deeper sleep when the door opened. 

"Oi shitty glasses, I need Emory for-" Levi stopped abruptly, his eyes landing on the three of us on the couch. Hange was starting to drool on my jacket, and my nose was twitching due to Hange's hair tickling me. Moblit held a finger to his lips and slowly stood up, setting the paper and pen down quietly. 

"I don't know when I'll be able to get her to sleep like this again, any chance you could go without Emory tonight?" Moblit whispered, his hands clasped together as he pleaded. 

"Hange's a big girl I'm sure she'll manage." Levi grunted, brushing past Moblit to grab my upper arm. I sat up, a tiny snort leaving my lips, Hange's head rolled off my shoulder and onto the back of the couch. Moblit winced, Hange let out a snore and his shoulders slumped with relief. 

"Up runt, you're late." Levi hissed, tugging insistently on my arm. I licked my chapped lips and slowly sat up. 

"Sorry." I yawned, my eyes still heavy with sleep. 

"Tch, just get up we have work to do." He grabbed my other bicep and pulled me onto my feet. I staggered, my legs tingling from being trapped under Hange. He pulled us out of the stuffy office and out into the drafty corridor. His hand slid down from my bicep to my wrist, I lifted my free hand to wipe the sleep from my eyes as I followed him blindly. 

"What time is it?" I yawned, cracking my eyes open to see the back of Levi's raven mop of hair. 

"Late." he grunted, barely audible as we rounded the corner. 

"I know I was late I'm sorry." I was at that point in when you've been woken up when everything makes me angry and nothing makes sense. Levi yanked his office door open and hauled us both in, I wrenched my wrist free and made a beeline for his small love seat that was pushed up against the wall. He peeled his jacket off and dropped into his seat, scowling at me from across the room as I leaned back into the seat. 

"What did shitty glasses have you doing all day?" he asked, as he took in my disheveled state. 

"Dishes." I moaned, my head falling back onto the back of the couch. Levi huffed, she always had hated doing the dishes. He glanced at his mountain of paper work, and back at me splaying out on his love seat. He frowned at the papers one more time before getting back onto his feet and stalking across the room. He paused, his eyes flitting to the clock on the wall, 12:00 am. 

"Up Cinderella." he huffed, stooping to grab my ankle and tug my ass off the couch. Another pitiful moan escaped my lips as I threw my arm across my face. 

"It's too late I've already turned into a pumpkin, just leave me to rot." I whined, weakly tugging my leg away from Levi. He tightened his grip and frowned down at me, my hair was tied back, although it was slowly falling out, making me look like an absolute hobo. 

"Come on quit being insufferable, get up you have work to do." he nagged, once again tugging on my ankle so that now my whole ass was off the seat and half of my abdomen, causing my shirt to ride up. He clicked his tongue and tugged again, I flailed my arms and kicked my legs in a desperate attempt to keep my balance. I slid off the couch and landed hard on my ass. I whimpered, twinges of pain shooting up my spine as my tailbone throbbed. 

"Fuck, that hurt." I hissed, glaring up at him, his face remained stoic as he stared down at me. 

"Just get up. Do you want to learn to read and write or not?" he rolled his eyes as he turned to stalk back over to his desk. With a long breathy sigh I pulled myself off the ground and padded after him. I sank down into the chair across the desk and he scowled at me. I blinked at him for a moment, wondering what I had possibly done wrong, I'd followed his order to get off the couch. 

"Here." he snapped his fingers and pointed beside him. My mouth opened into a tiny 'o' and I stood once more, dragging my chair noisily around his desk. I settled back into my seat and watched him prepare a sheet of words for me to copy. Once he was finished he pushed the pen and paper over to me and turned his attention back to his work. The room was silent except for the sound of our pens scratching on the paper and the soft ticking of the clock. 

____

Levi snuck a glance at Emory from the corner of his eye, her tongue was poking out of her lips as she slowly maneuvered the pen over the paper. He turned his head to glance at her work, frowning at her shaky penmanship. 

"What did I tell you about holding the pen?" Levi's voice was lacking of any annoyance or malice. Emory turned to face him and frowned. 

"I thought I was doing better." She looked back at the paper and her eyebrows furrowed as she glared at the thick black letters. Levi clicked his tongue and dragged his chair closer to inspect the letters. 

"I see. Show me how you're holding the pen again." Levi flicked his wrist as he waited for her to readjust the pen between her fingers. He shook his head in disappointment as he stared at the way the ben was precariously balanced between her middle finger and ring finger. 

"You've got it backwards, the pen should balance between your index and middle finger." He murmured, pulling the pen from her grasp he slid it back between her digits. Her lip twitched, amused by her own screw up. 

"Damn, my bad." She huffed, gripping the pen tighter as she tested out the new hold. Levi gave a slight nod, seeing the improvement immediately. Levi scoffed at her language and turned back to his work. After about 20 more minutes Levi noticed that Emory had set the pen down and was now very interested in the way the candle flame danced. 

"Need some more words?" He asked without glancing up from the paper he was on. 

"No I need to go to bed." She groaned, folding her arms on the desk and resting her head on them. Levi's eyes flickered to the clock and he frowned, already 1:30? Damn, it had gotten late, he looked back at Emory her shoulders rising and falling gradually. 

"No, no no no you're not going to sleep at my desk. I know you drool in your sleep." Levi smacked her on the back and she bolted upright. 

"Hey I don't drool." She frowned at him, offended that he would accuse her of such a thing. 

"Yes you do." 

"Do not." she narrowed her eyes and sat her head back down on the desk, letting her arms hand loosely at her sides. 

"Do six more words and then you can go to bed." Levi ordered as he listed out six more words for her. 

"Fine." she hissed, snatching the paper from him. Her eyes narrowed as she focused on her scrawling penmanship, satisfied with her concentration, Levi turned his own attention back to his work. After a few more minutes Emory sat the pen down and slammed her head obnoxiously onto his desktop. Levi tensed as he resisted the urge to assign her more work. Levi finished the stack he was working on before turning his attention to the hunched over girl. She had her arms stacked on top of one another with her forehead resting on her forearm. Levi frowned as he watched her shoulders rise and fall steadily, he reached out and jostled her bicep. With a snort she lifted her head and glared at him, her eyes blinking slowly as she stared at him. 

"What? Can I go now?" She yawned as Levi sat frozen in his seat, his hand still resting on her arm. 

"...." 

"Well?" 

"Get out of here already." Levi huffed as he reached for another stack of paperwork. 

"Don't have to tell me twice." Emory mumbled under her breath and rolled her eyes as she slowly rose to her feet and hauled the chair back around the desk. Levi's brows drew together as he glared at the small wet patch on the paper she had been jotting on. He picked it up and held it up for the blonde to see. 

"You drooled." Levi stated bluntly as fixed his icy gaze on Emory. 

"Sorry." Emory shrugged and rested her hand on the door handle as she turned the lock with her other hand. Levi flicked his wrist dismissively at the apology, too tired to be mad at the young woman. 

"Don't let the night guard shift see you out in the halls this late." was all Levi said in parting as Emory slipped out of his office and made the trek back to the girls wing of the castle.


	7. 7

I frowned as I watched Sasha clasp her hands together and soften her eyes akin to a dog begging for scraps. 

"Please Emoryyyy I know you don't like bread that much!" Sasha whines as she jutted her bottom lip out in a pout. 

"Who told you that?" I scoffed as I took a big bite out of my bread to taunt her. She moaned and edged closer to me so that I could hear her heavy breathing. 

"I'll do most of the work when we have stable duty this evening!" Sasha cried out as I was about to take another chunk out of the bread. I paused, my mouth wide open with the bread centimeters from my teeth. 

"Go on..." I mumbled around the bread as I waited for Sasha to up the anti. 

"I-I'll even clean the boys bathroom for you tomorrow!" Sasha's face immediately twisted with regret when the words tumbled from her mouth. 

"All that just for the last half of bread." I chuckled and thrust the remaining bread into Sasha's mouth before she could protest. 

"I'd say that's a bargain." I gloated as I wiped my hands on my pants as Sasha scarfed the bread down. 

"Thanks!" She cried as she got up and jogged back over to her table to reclaim her seat next to Connie. 

"If I didn't know better I'd say that you are starting to pick up some of my tactics." Ymir drawled after Sasha was out of ear shot. I rolled my eyes and tried to bite back the smile threatening to curl across my lips. 

"You wish." I denied as I spoon the rest of my stew into my mouth. 

"You really shouldn't be proud of sharing bad habits." Krista scolded. 

"Aw my dear Krista don't worry I'm sure that Emory here hasn't learned anything from me that she didn't already know from her upbringing." Ymir sighed as she draped an arm across the small blonde's shoulders. I rolled my eyes as they began to bicker I gathered my tray and went to drop it off in the kitchen, lunch was almost over and I wanted to get a head start out to the ODM tack barn so I could take my time gearing up. I slipped out of the cafeteria without issue along with some other soldiers with the same mindset as me. Some of them were heading to tactical training with Hange, others to sparring with Mike, and most to ODM drills with Levi. I crossed the courtyard with haste to reach the large storage building that served as a space for soldiers to store the ODM gear. I was one of the first to arrive and made quick work of going through the lengthy checklist to prepare my equipment. 

___

"I hope that Emory was useful to you last night after you stole her from me."Hange teased as she waved her fork in Levi's face. Erwin quirked a brow, interested in the strange dynamic between the captain and squad leader. 

"More of a burden." Levi scoffed as he tore his bread in half. 

"Then why steal her!" Hange crowed loudly as she slammed her hands onto the table top. 

"If you recall shitty-glasses we have an agreement, I get her in the evenings to help with paperwork, you get her in the day to aid with your experiments." Levi growled impatiently. 

"Yeah well she's my squad member not yours so I should get her the majority of the time." Hange shot back as she crossed her arms childishly. 

"We. Had. A. Deal." Levi hissed venomously accentuating his words by jabbing his pointer finger into the table. 

"Alright that's enough bickering. If I recall correctly, you both have training exercises to run so hop to it." Erwin scolded, waving the two off as he rose to return his empty tray. Levi glared daggers after the huge blonde as he retreated. Levi followed Erwin's lead, snatching up his tray before Hange could grab his apple. 

"I'll be taking Emory again this evening." Levi asserted before swiftly turning on his heel and pocketing his apple. He heard Hange scrambling to gather her tray to follow suite and presumably continue their argument. 

"You can't take her this evening! I already assigned her to the night shift with Nifa!" Hange squawked as she gave chase, her utensils rattling on her tray as she stalked after Levi. 

"Fine then I'll take her this afternoon after training." Levi responded cooly as he dropped his tray on the cart and once again agilely avoided Hange. 

"Argh, fine I guess that I can spare her, although I'm sure she'll be upset to miss my experiment with Sawney and Bean!" Hange hollered after Levi as he exited the cafeteria. By now most of the soldiers had left for their respective duties, save for a handful of stragglers who all received bone chilling glares from Levi. By the time Levi arrived, the recruits had already geared up and were patiently waiting for him. He took his time pulling on the hefty gear and sliding in the gas canisters before he began to pace in front of the perfectly lined recruits. He paused to sneer at Eren who withered under his steely gaze. 

"Laps. Don't stop until I say so." Levi's ordered, his gray eyes fixed on Eren as he spoke. When no one moved, he arched a thin brow and turned his gaze to sweep slowly across the barn. 

"What are you waiting for? Hop to it cadets." with that, the soldiers scrambled to jog out of the barn and onto the dusty courtyard to run laps around the perimeter of the property. 

____

I huffed, the scabbards slapping against the outsides of my thighs as I jogged. I sucked air in through my mouth and blew it heavily from my nostrils, my throat burned as dust particles floated inside my mouth. It was inevitable, the sheer amount of cadets jogging caused the already dry dirt to stir as we trampled over the grounds. My eyes shifted to my right where I could see Eren with his head hanging pathetically. To my left, Sasha struggled, her hands scrabbling against her scabbards as she attempted to lift some of the weight off of her legs. I snorted, my legs felt like lead as I pushed forwards towards the front of the pack, which was currently being led by Reiner. My chest burned at the effort of pouring on more speed as I pushed past Bertholdt and Ymir. My equipment felt like it was going to pull me straight through the crust of the earth with how heavy it hung off my body. 

Ymir growled and bashed against me, our gear clattering loudly as we smashed into each other. I fell back a bit, favoring passing on Bertholdt's left then between the two, knowing that the tall boy would be less likely to trip me or worse. Once I had pushed past the lumbering male I continued to maintain my pace, the back of Reiner's blonde head acting as motivation. Just as I was closing in on my target, a loud acoustic round sounded off, signaling us to stop. Reiner screeched to a halt, causing me to slam into his broad back and fall backwards onto my ass. I blinked in shock, too busy sucking in air to notice the presence behind me before it was too late. A boot connected right between my shoulder blades painfully. 

"On your feet. Back to the barn, remove your equipment and await further instruction." Levi ordered, his foot still on my back as he spoke. I yelped when he brought his foot off, readying myself for one of his infamous kicks. But it never came, instead I hauled myself to my feet and followed the stream of cadets back to the barn before he changed his mind. 

"Oh Emory has anyone ever told you that you look best on your knees?" Ymir jabbed her elbow into my ribs as we entered the barn to return our equipment. 

"Fuck off freckles." I rolled my eyes and lifted my chin a bit higher. 

"Aw come on now don't be like that." Ymir cooed as she draped her arm over my shoulders. I huffed and shrugged her off as I stooped to tug my gear off, a bead of sweat rolled off my temple and dripped off my chin. 

"I was only kidding." Ymir scoffed as she began to strip her own gear. 

"Just drop it already." I hissed as I freed myself from the hefty scabbards. Ymir paused, her hands freezing over her belt buckles as she watched me gather the scabbards to return to the quartermaster. Ymir finished turning in her gear and chased after me, snagging me by the back of my jacket and spinning me around to face her. 

"Let's skip dinner." she smirked as she tugged on my wrist. I averted my gaze to the horizon where the sun was starting to sink beneath the wall, casting the land in a golden hue. 

"What about Krista? Wouldn't want to leave her all alone." I snatched my wrist back and glared at the brunette. 

"She'll survive for the night." Ymir shrugged as she folded her hands behind her head. 

"I'm hungry." 

"Too bad." Ymir was growing impatient as the other recruits began to file back into the castle. 

"I have to be back before dinner is over I have the night shift tonight." I sighed and stalked back towards the dark forest on the outskirts of HQ. Ymir jogged after me, her golden eyes gleaming in the waning light. 

"This won't take long at all." Ymir licked her lips and I cringed, concerned with what she had planned for this trip. 

____

Levi scowled at the sweaty cadets as they struggled to return their gear in a timely fashion. He stood near the doors, his arms crossed and his back pressed against the frame. He quirked a brow at the sight of a lanky brunette tossing an arm over Emory's shoulders, the brunette leaned in, her face so close Levi could see her breath rustling the hairs that framed Emory's face. He couldn't make out what they were saying but they seemed to be arguing. Before he could further analyze the situation Emory had already fled and began to turn in her gear. 

Still intrigued with the dynamic between the two Levi lurked near the doors where he had a perfect view of the pair. He saw the way that the brunette held Emory's jacket and how Emory's calculating gaze seemed to sharpen. The tide of cadets seemed to part around the pair as they bustled into the castle, the flow ebbing to a trickle as the majority finished turning in gear. Soon it was just the pair in the dusty courtyard, as the last soldiers left the barn the pair turned and walked briskly towards the thick grove of trees that surrounded the castle. Levi clicked his tongue in dissatisfaction as he watched them retreat, but ultimately decided that he wasn't interested in chasing them down, especially if he was going to walk in on them fucking. 

____

"H-Hey isn't this far enough?" I yelped as Ymir let yet another tree branch fly backwards at my face. 

"Quit whining." Ymir snapped as she pushed through the brush. We finally stopped at a small creek, the bubbling water rushing over smooth stones. Ymir stooped down to cup some water in her hands and splash across her sweaty face. 

"Hah want to go for a swim?" I joked as I knelt next to her to sip on the cool water. Ymir rolled her eyes and leaned back onto her haunches, her sharp features heightened in the dim lighting. 

"I want to tell you a story." Ymir spoke slowly as she stretched her legs out, I tilted my head curiously. 

"Okay..." I mirrored her and leaned back. 

"Long ago, there was a girl. She was a slave to a king. She held incredible powers which the king abused. She became the nations' strongest soldier. The nation praised her for her accomplishments for them, while the enemy nations claimed that she was the spawn of the devil-" 

"Was she?" I interrupted. 

"No, she was just a girl." 

"Clearly not if she became such a force that other nations knew who she was." I scoffed. 

"Just shut up and listen." Ymir scolded. 

"Fine sorry." 

"The king had children with the girl in an attempt to pass on her powers. Shortly after her third daughter was born, the girl sacrificed herself to save the king from a spear. She took the hit and fell dead at the King's feet. In a desperate gamble to save her abilities, the king ordered his daughters to feast upon her corpse. They did as they were told and ate their own mother. In doing so they were able to obtain her powers, although not to their fullest. To this day her powers are passed down to her descendants." Ymir concluded, her gaze fixed on the swaying branches above. 

"Wow, what a great bedtime story, you really hit all the necessary points, cannibals, supernatural powers, kings, war. Really I'm impressed Ymir." I praised as I shifted to face her fully. I faltered when I saw the cloud of darkness that seemed to hang over her head as she blinked slowly at the sky. 

"All of her descendants are connected. By Paths, nobody knows how, but Paths is able to transport memories, flesh, bones, and wills that make up a titan's body. Although all of her descendants, it is best transferred between family members. In the past only one clan has been able to harness a fraction of this power. The Dragun clan managed to master the ability to call upon paths to their benefit. They are better known as path walkers, they can appear in any form they please including titans." 

"Ha I wish that were true." I scoffed, the thought of being able to turn into a bird and flying far away from here was more than tempting. Ymir remained silent, her gaze slowly turning to fall on me. 

"It is true Emory." she spoke softly, her eyes unbelievably soft and her eyes looked more exhausted than any 15 year olds should. 

"...." I wasn't sure what I could say. I didn't have the heart to tell her she sounded insane so I remained silent. By now the sun had sank below the wall, bathing the forest in shadows. Dinner was probably almost finished so I stood up and waited for Ymir to, but she remained glued to the ground, her hand now in the stream, allowing the water to cascade over her palm. 

"Thanks for sharing really, I appreciate it. But I've got to get ready for my shift." I sighed as I turned to march back to HQ. My head was spinning as I recalled the legend that Ymir had shared with me. Thinking back on it, I think that's the most she'd ever spoken to me in the short time we'd known each other. I finally pushed free of the brush and jogged across the courtyard to report for my shift at the parlor of the castle. I skidded to a halt in front of Hange who was tapping her foot impatiently on the cobblestone.

"Ah there you are my dear!" she crooned as I licked my lips in anticipation. 

"My apologies section commander!" I apologized as I lifted my fist to salute. She dismissed me with a sly look. 

"No worries, are you ready for your first night watch?" She quizzed, leaning down to meet my eyes. 

"Yes ma'am." I affirmed as I held eye contact. 

"Great! You'll be with Nanaba tonight. She'll show you the ropes." Hange stated as she rolled her sleeves up. 

"She'll fetch you soon enough, I'll be in my office if you need anything." Hange sighed as she turned on her heel and retreated up the steps, leaving me alone in the parlor. 

Finally after a few minutes of standing awkwardly, a thin blonde woman emerged from the rowdy cafeteria. Her hair was styled in an undercut that framed her face nicely, she had icy blue eyes and a sweet smile on her lips. 

"I take it you're Emory?" her voice was level as she spoke each word with confidence. 

"Yes that's me." I affirmed, my own blue eyes hardening in determination. Ymir's sudden outburst had thrown me for a loop, and I wasn't about to come off as a dimwit because of it. 

"Pleasure to meet you. I'm Nanaba." her eyes flashed with amusement as she watched my demeanor shift. 

"I'm.....Emory" I answered for the sake of formalities. The blonde chuckled and motioned for me to follow her. 

"Tonight you just watch and learn. We will be patrolling the castle while Gelgar and that tall skinny kid patrol the perimeter. That's how these things work. We'll be watching for disobedient brats while they watch for other threats." Nanaba explained as the two of us began to walk through the main floor. We had just finished a lap around the floor when dinner finished and soldiers spilled into the halls to retreat to the bathrooms for showers, some went straight into their rooms. Once the first floor settled down, we climbed the stairs to the second floor, which consisted of lodgings for soldiers, most rooms held at least four soldiers. Again once the floor went silent we moved up, the third floor was where meetings were held and the library was located, as well as one of Hange's laboratory. The final floor was the smallest, made up of offices and the rooms that were connected to them that served as the superiors' quarters. 

The night crawled by slowly, Nanaba wasn't much of a talker, although she wasn't nearly as tightly lipped as Levi was. The shift only ended when the first rays of the sun peeked through the windows and the early morning shift relieved us. Night shift guards were granted two extra hours for sleep and a late breakfast, which I was grateful for. Nanaba dropped me off at my room, which I shared with Mikasa, and Sasha both of them were absent when I entered. I flopped down onto my bed with a heavy sigh, still sore from the running I'd done earlier. I sighed, thoughts of the schedule for the day looming about. I had a tactical training and chores that needed to be completed in preparation for the expedition that was coming up. 

There was only about a week left before the expedition commenced.


	8. 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Emory goes on her first scouting mission

Believe it or not a week flies by. I shifted in my saddle as I tried to stare over the other scouts on horseback in front of me. The sea of soldiers were waiting anxiously for the gate to open and the order for the mission to begin. Being on Hange's squad had its perks, we were part of the command squadron on this particular mission. This meant that we were in the front of the formation next to Erwin and his squad. Hange had me with Nifa in the back of the command squad, If I looked back I could just barely make out a mop of black hair in the sea of heads. I gripped the reins tightly when I heard the garrison soldiers give the order to raise the gate, which was followed by Erwin's order for the scouts to move out. I kicked my horse to follow the rest as we rushed out into titan territory. 

The buildings faded into the background as we pressed on into the plains. The occasional homestead every few kilometers. Nifa kept glancing back at me, like she expected me to pass out or run off at any given moment. 

___

"Hang on rookie." she called over her shoulder as she swung a left, I followed close behind, my eyes lingering on the green smoke signal that indicated our shift in direction. Our horses huffed in the effort that it took to swing the left so suddenly. We had been riding like this for some time now, bringing up the back of the command squad as we rode through the expanse of the plain. After we readjusted and reached a level speed Nifa turned her attention to our right, where a lone rider was making a beeline towards us. She held her hand up and waved, recognition washing over her tense face. 

"Petra! What are you doing all the way up here? Aren't you supposed to be in the rear center of the formation?" Nifa asked once the small girl was close enough. 

"Yes, but I came to bring a message! The right wing has been decimated." the strawberry blonde informed as she matched the speed of your horses. 

"No way..." Nifa gasped. 

"Afraid so." Petra frowned as she gripped her reins and stared down at the flowing mane of her gray stallion. 

"Pass the message on to Keji." Nifa ordered with another glance over her shoulder. I nodded and spurred my horse on, leaving the pair behind. Once I was alone I took a sharp inhale, the fresh air flooding my lungs. I could smell that musky scent that I had come to associate with titans, but if I really got a good whiff I could smell another familiar scent. Something like the woodsy scent of titans, but with a certain edge to it, an earthy musk. I frowned, Annie? No I must be going crazy, Annie was no where near here, she was in the interior. I swallowed thickly and urged my horse to go faster, I finally caught up to Keji and the rest of the Fourth Squad. 

"Sir! A message!" I called out as I pulled my horse up to his horse's flank. He glanced at me but quickly turned his attention back to whatever it was that Lauda had been saying. I frowned, turning my gaze on the others, Goggles was looking at me curiously, his shaggy blonde hair blown off his face from the wind. Rashad was scowling straight ahead, ignoring the bickering Keji and Lauda. 

"Sir it's urgent." I pressed, demanding Keji's attention. 

"Fine spit it out already then!" Keji boomed, turning his head to face me once more. 

"The right wing has been decimated!" I yelled over the wind. Keji's features darkened at the news and motioned for Goggles to pass on the message. Once I knew that I was no longer needed I turned around and went back towards Nifa. The red head was still with Petra when I returned, they were totally engrossed in conversation still, barely even glancing up at me. 

"-I know! We shared tea in his office a few times but this past week he's been requesting my presence more than ever!" Petra gushed as she cantered next to Nifa. 

"No kidding! I just wish that Moblit would take a day off and go in to town with me." Nifa sighed dreamily, I quirked a brow at this. 

"Yeah! Hange could do a day with out him!" Petra agreed with a sigh. 

"Tell me about it." Nifa groaned as the two fell into a giggling fit. Shortly after Petra retreated back into her assigned place, leaving me alone with Nifa once more. 

"What does this mean for the formation?" I asked, annoyed that Nifa was ignoring me. 

"It means that we change direction and hope that the remaining scouts to the right do a better job of signaling titans." Nifa huffed as we fell into step, our horses snorting loudly. I scoffed, not liking the odds. Just as I was about to ask if this happens on every expedition, a green flare shot up ahead, signaling for us to push forwards into the looming forest. Nifa looked at me expectantly as I fumbled for my flare gun and powder. Finally I shot off a green flare which was mirrored by others from behind us. It wasn't long before we were totally surrounded by the massive trees, the rest of our squad had slowed so that we could rejoin them. Erwin's own squad not far ahead with Hange among them. 

"What's going on? Surely we won't all fit on this path and keep the formation!" I yelled over the wind. Nifa shook her head in agreement. 

"You're right, we won't. We have a different assignment." She spoke curtly as we pressed on. We rode on through the forest until Erwin suddenly screeched to a halt, the wagon that was behind his squad was unloaded with lightning speed. Erwin's squad and Hange's squad began to set up huge barrels while I gapped. Hange slung an arm over my shoulder as she watched the soldiers work. Erwin and Mike both shot up into the trees to presumably watch for titans. 

"Sorry to catch you so off guard Emory. You understand...can't have you rookies spoiling our master plan now can we?" She teased as she gauged my reaction. 

"W-What...." I was too stunned to be upset as I watched the scouts begin hooking the barrels up to some complicated wiring. 

"Yeah, I know it's exciting, just go sit next to Mike up there and be a doll." She gushed, ruffling my hair before sauntering off to aid the squads. I shot my grappling hooks up into a tree trunk and flew up to the branch that Mike was residing on. 

"Sir, Emory Black reporting for duty." I saluted the large man who inhaled deeply once before scrunching his nose in an expression akin to disgust. He leaned down until his face was parallel with my shoulder and inhaled deeply once more. 

"Emory Black you say...." he mumbled, his narrow blue eyes shining with interest as he sized me up. 

"Yes sir." I affirmed as I stood straighter. 

"Very well then, sit tight here with me and await further orders." he grunted as he leaned back onto the massive trunk. It wasn't long before the thundering sound of footsteps could be heard, however they weren't like regular titan footsteps. These sounded rapid and precise, I could tell that the titan was sprinting at full tilt through the trees. Mike nudged me to stand up straight and I obliged. 

"Get ready to cover your ears." he advised as he watched the path intently. Moments later an acoustic round was fired not far off and Mike covered his own ears. I followed his lead and noticed that Erwin's arm was raised. My eyes widened at the sight of Levi squad barreling towards us with a huge titan close on their heels. The titan was pink, which at first I thought was strange but then I realized that she was such an odd shade because she lacked skin. Once Levi's squad was clear Erwin dropped his arm and loud cannon fire rang though the trees. The female titan covered her nape and froze as wire shot out from every angle and landing in her flesh, anchoring her in place. Levi shot off from his Squad which pushed deeper into the trees while her landed on the branch next to Erwin. I couldn't help but gasp at the sight of him, my heart racing as relief coursed through my veins. Although I knew he would be fine seeing him in once piece was very calming. 

"Come along." Mike ordered and I followed him over to Erwin and Levi. Once I landed I hung back behind Mike, but my eyes were trained on Levi who was currently transfixed with the ensnared titan. 

"-whoever it is....they're probably pissing their pants right about now." Levi drawled as he stared. Erwin looked grim as he took in the situation. 

"We'll need to blow her hands off if we can't free her from the nape." Erwin informed as two scout attempted to chop her hands off at the wrists. I shifted anxiously on the branch as I stared at the back of the titan, it was undeniable now. Annie's scent was all consuming, the scent of churned earth and dead leaves mixed with the dying embers of a fire. I could just make out the side of the titan's face, and the nose was certainly familiar. My stomach churned as I watched the titan struggle against the wires. The skin on her hands turned an icy blue as she hardened her skin once more. I was so busy watching the titan that I missed Levi shooting off the branch to land on her head. I couldn't hear what he was saying but I could tell he wasn't being nice. Suddenly the titan shifted and opened her jaw in an ear splitting scream. Mike stiffened and turned to Erwin. 

"Multiple titans incoming!" 

"From which directions?" 

"All directions." Mike answered grimly. I turned back to the scene at hand, Levi was stomping his foot against the scalp of the titan like toddler throwing a tantrum. 

"Levi! Fall back!" I screamed, he looked up and frowned at me, his eyes hard when they met my soft concerned ones. Instead he unsheathed his blades and turned towards the approaching titans. He shot his hooks out and engaged in battle with the oncoming beasts. 

"All units, defend the female titan at all costs!" Erwin ordered as the scouts flew into action. I gasped and fell of the branch, aiming to take out the three meter titan that was munching on the female titan's ankle. I sliced off the nape with ease and swung on to the next target, a five meter that had it's claws sunk into her thigh. I gouged out its eyes before going for the kill, effectively taking out the monster. Before long the forest was shrouded in titan steam as the fallen beasts disintegrated. As I swooped down for another kill I felt my wire dislodge from the trunk it was in, through the clouds I could see a thick hand tugging it. Dread knotted in my stomach as I made out the face of a titan that was now uninterested in the female and more interested in snacking on me. In a panic I over corrected and lost my other wire, causing me to tumble from the sky. On my way down the titan yanked my wire, forcing me to swing in a wide arc. I smashed against a tree, my ears ringing from the blow. I dangled there as the titan inspected it's catch. Suddenly the titan fell dead, and I felt a strong arm loop around my waist as I fell weightlessly. 

"He said fall back you simpleton, are you deaf?" Levi snarled as he dropped me on a thick branch. 

"Wha?" I blinked up at him in shock as he stood up slowly from his crouching position. My head was still spinning as I swayed on the branch. Levi scowled at the trickle of blood that was ebbing out of my hairline. He crouched back down to push the bloody hair off my face to inspect my cut. 

"Jesus Emory. Sit still." he scowled as he reached for my wrist, I allowed him to hold it, unaware that he was looking for a hair tie. Once he found what he was looking for her pulled my hair back and looked up to survey the damage. Steam was curling up as the titan continued to feast on the female. 

"...Annie.....I've got to save her...." I mumbled incoherently as I watched the steam rise. 

"Stay still idiot." Levi scolded as he fumbled for the roll of gauze he kept. I whimpered as he began to wrap my wound, my eyes were filling with tears as I watched the blonde hair disappeared under the steam. 

"Annie!" I yelled, my hand shooting out in a feeble attempt to reach her. Levi scoffed and continued to wrap my head. 

"You're delirious." He grunted as he pushed more hair off of my forehead. The scent that I associated with Annie was overwhelming as the steam rose upwards and into my nostrils. 

"She needs me...I have to get to her before...." My eyes widened the titans splurged on the flesh. 

"She can wait." Levi sighed, giving into my delusions. 

"No she can't." I slumped into his embrace as tears spilled over my cheeks. Levi frowned down at me as I went limp in his grasp. Erwin called out to him and Levi clicked his tongue in annoyance. He gathered me up, hoisting me onto his hip like he used to. He shot his hooks out and swung onto the branch once more with Erwin, Hange, and Mike. 

"Your orders." Levi stated rather than asked, still holding me like a temperamental toddler. 

"Replenish you blades and rendezvous with your squad. It's time to retreat." Erwin ordered as he stared blankly down at the carnage. Mike frowned down at me as I sniffled in Levi's grasp. 

"What's wrong with Emory?" Hange asked as I tightened my fists in Levi's cape. 

"She needed me...." I whimpered, a fresh wave of tears falling down my cheeks. 

"She banged her head pretty hard, no more fighting for her today." Levi informed the others as he crouched to place me on the branch. 

"Okay, drop her in the wagon when you go to restock." Erwin agreed as he eyed me with slight disdain. 

"No not yet....I have to get to her." I insisted, reaching once more towards the smoke, my vision obscured by the smoke and tears. 

"Knock it off." Levi growled as he gathered me once more and shot towards the wagons with the others. He dropped me like a sack of potatoes in the back of the wagon that Keji was now manning. I barely registered him replacing his gas canisters and picking up new blades as the other soldiers joined us and began to prepare their horses. 

"-come on Goggles can't you just watch her horse." I heard Nifa beg as she held the reins to my horse. 

"She was yours to watch this expedition so you're stuck with her horse!" Goggles snapped as he rested his hand against the wagon. I groaned, my head spinning as I watched Levi tap on his canisters. 

"Stay put, I'll be back for you shortly." Levi said, his hand sinking into my messy mane to ruffle my hair. Nifa paused her argument to gape at Levi as he ruffled my hair. Goggles' jaw dropped as well, Keji was looking over his shoulder also engrossed in the interaction. 

"Move out!" Erwin ordered, the squad scrambled to collect themselves. Levi shot his hooks up into a huge tree and zipped away to fulfill Erwin's orders. I was left staring up at the vast canopy as the wagon rolled into motion, not helping my vertigo. 

"Ran into a fucking tree...unbelievable. If you live through this I'll never let you live it down." Keji yelled over the wind as I groaned. 

"Leave her alone Keji! At least she didn't piss her pants." Goggles teased, clearly touching on a subject that was sore to Rashad. 

"Hey! It is a very common reaction!" the blonde man yelled back. 

"Is not!" Nifa giggled, her hands full with my horse and her own horse's reins. 

"Lauda pissed himself too!" Rashad deflected venomously. 

"AHHHH I did not!" the brunette screamed his denial and I whimpered as my head pulsed painfully. 

"shut the fuck up." I groaned as I covered my eyes from the bright rays of the sun. 

"So feisty." Keji sniggered as he spurred the wagon on. We thundered through the forest for an undetermined amount of time before the sound of a titan shifter transforming rang through my ears. I sat upright and caught the last flicker of lightning in the distance. My heart raced as the wagon showed no signs of stopping or changing directions. 

"Push through the forest we will rendezvous with Levi squad on the outskirts!" Erwin bellowed as the squads continued to race through the trees. 

"No...not again." I whimpered. 

"Lay back down brat, won't be long now." Keji ordered and I dropped back onto my back. I choked back a sob as a fresh breeze brought the scent of Annie back to my nose. I wasn't sure why I felt so compelled to help her, but the urge was almost unbearable. She had never given me a reason to care so deeply for her. But then again she hadn't given me a reason to despise her either. That titan was her, I just knew it. I wasn't sure what she wanted but I knew that it must have been serious for her to risk being eaten alive to achieve her goal. I had to know what it was she was chasing so desperately, what I could do to prove that she didn't need to fight so viciously to prove herself. I wanted to be her ally, at this point it didn't matter what her endgame was. 

Maybe I had hit my head too hard. I was starting to sound awful treacherous, I cared for her that was the truth. I at least wanted to know why she was doing this, what was the drive? I had to know. I flinched when a second clap of thunder shook the forest, the familiar scream of Eren's titan echoing through the trees. I gasped as I sat up a second time. 

"What did I just tell you!" Keji screamed venomously. 

"I can't I have to help..." I stuttered as I fumbled to reattach my gear. 

"Hange will have my head if you run off now!" Keji yelled, reaching back to snatch my wrist. 

"I have to!" I resisted, weakly tugging as my head was still swimming. 

"Lay the fuck back down before I knock your sorry ass out!" Keji growled, tossing my wrist from his grip and knocking me back on my ass. I wilted, my will to resist waning as the black spots in my vision won over.


	9. 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the inconsistency of the POV, I'm trying some different things out right now. From here on out I plan on using a narrators approach, hopefully that doesn't bother you guys too much! Once again, sorry for the inconsistency, hope you enjoy! <3

I woke with a start, my eyes burning from the direct sunlight. I felt a comforting hand on my shoulder, a glance to my left told me that it was Mikasa who had her hand firmly rested on my shoulder, keeping me down. 

"Stay still Emory, you're hurt." Mikasa stated bluntly as she turned her gaze back up to the horizon. 

"No shit." I huffed as the pulsing in my brain amplified with the bright light. I lolled my head to the right, only to come face to face with Eren, who was unconscious. 

"Where is she?" I croaked as I tried to sit up again. Mikasa pushed me back down harshly with a click of her tongue. 

"Sore subject." Mikasa growled, her expression darkening as she thought about the defeat they had just experienced. 

"Got it." I quipped, deciding to not push the subject. 

"Hang on kiddos, won't be long now!" Keji hollered from the front of the wagon. Mikasa gripped the edge of the wagon to steady herself as we passed over a rough patch. I winced when my head banged against the wood, sparing a glance at Eren I scowled when I realized that he hadn't hit his head because Mikasa's scarf was acting as a cushion. I rolled my eyes and let out a loud sigh. Mikasa's fingers dug into my collarbone as she leaned over me to prop Eren's head up. I growled a warning before she finally let up the pressure. 

"Sorry..." Mikasa's half-assed apology flew right over my head as I rubbed the soreness out of my chest. 

"How long was I out?" I asked, brushing her apology off. 

"Give or take two hours." Mikasa seemed relieved to be off the subject of apologies. 

"Fuck. Why didn't anyone wake me?" I hissed as I tried once more to sit up, only to be pushed back down. 

"Lay down Emory." Mikasa returned my hostility with ease as she once again planted a firm hand on my collarbone. 

"Oh Emory I would listen to her, she means business. I know I wouldn't want to get on her bad side." Keji chuckled from his seat as he listened to the interaction. 

"Look we'll be back in less than ten minutes just sit tight ladies." Keji informed as I noticed the buildings that were now whizzing by instead of empty sky. I couldn't help but relax at that news, the thought of my bed was nearly enough to ease my nerves. Once I saw the dark tunnel ceiling above I knew we had made it. Eren stirred next to me and Mikasa lunged to prop him up as he coughed. I winced, feeling awkward as my view became Mikasa's stomach and hips as she knelt above me. I tried not to listen to Eren's sniffles as Mikasa caught him up on the events. I tried even harder to block out the nasty remarks that were aimed towards the scouts by the citizens of Trost as we passed through. 

It was at least another hour of traveling before we reached HQ. Mikasa was so busy helping Eren out of the wagon, I definitely wasn't expecting her to aid me. I was surprised when Mike approached the bed of the wagon and offered me his hand. When I hesitated he raised an eyebrow in question, I quickly accepted his help and allowed him to pull me from the wagon. Most of the soldiers were busy putting their horses away and the equipment that had been salvaged. Others were limping with their tails between their legs towards the infirmary. Sadly I was part of the latter, Mike had a large hand wrapped tightly around my bicep as he guided me to the infirmary. 

We stopped in the doorway, nurses and doctors were rushing around the space. I felt a pang of guilt when I noticed a soldier missing a hand, another that had a nasty gash that was bleeding profusely down the side of their face. 

"You know what Mike, I feel about a million times better, can you just help me to my room?" I asked as I turned to walk out of the stuffy building. 

"Oh no you don't, not with that head wound." Mike scolded, snatching my wrist and drug me deeper into the infirmary. He pushed me onto an empty bed and stood off to the side with his arms crossed across his broad chest. I fiddled with the sheets as my eyes scanned the busy room. After about twenty minutes of waiting, a nurse managed to squeeze me in. She held up her pen to check my eyes and asked me some questions. With a sigh she stood up and began to unravel the shabby bandage that Levi had wrapped around my head. 

"Yeah you're definitely concussed sweetie." She sighed as she dabbed a cotton ball soaked with alcohol against the gash on my forehead. 

"I would say she could say here, but it's a bit louder than I'd prefer. Could you escort her back to her room?" The nurse was speaking to Mike who nodded and stooped down to grab my bicep once more. As the two of us left the infirmary I kept my head down, finding the floor to be easier to look at than the changing scenery. Mike stopped and pushed me against the wall gently, 

"Sorry." He apologized, as we allowed a trio of soldiers to pass, two of them were dragging the third towards the infirmary, leaving a trail of blood in their path. I bit my lip as we watched them hobble past. 

"It's fine." I sighed as he steered me towards the staircase. We climbed the steps slowly up to the second floor. Mike paused at the top and glanced both ways before looking down at me. 

"That way." I mumbled weakly as I pointed to the left. Mike nodded and carried me to my room, once we reached the door he knocked to make sure my roommates were decent. When there was no answer he pushed the door open and dropped me down onto my bunk. 

"Thank you sir, sorry you spent your afternoon babysitting me..." I rubbed the back of my neck awkwardly as Mike towered over me, his face void of any emotion. 

"Don't mention it." he shrugged before ducking out of the room and shutting the door gently behind himself. With a heavy sigh I laid down and rolled so my back was to the window, blocking out as much of the light as I could. Despite the pounding of my head I found it easy to rest my eyes and allowed sleep to take over. 

___

As I fell into an agitated sleep, I found myself dreaming about the horrors of the underground once more. 

I flicked my tongue across my lower lip, the taste of iron filling my mouth. The ground was cold, but I didn't want to be on the bed, not after what had happened on that piece of furniture. My whole body was aching, and at this point I wasn't sure if it was from the beating I had taken earlier or the sexual assault that had happened only a few hours prior. My head pounded, and my thoughts felt fuzzy, I knew from experience that I had another concussion, probably from when the man had hit me after I'd bit his hand. The room was dark and mostly empty, except for the bed and the sorry excuse of a nightstand. I inhaled sharply, wondering if I would be stuck in here for the rest of my life, a feeling of hopelessness creeping into my bones. 

I sniffled, as thoughts of Farlan flashed across my mind, he wouldn't have let his happen to me. I thought bitterly as I wiped my tears with the back of my hand. Why did they leave me here? Were they dead? What happened? They said they would be back in a few hours. It had been three days already! I just wanted Isabel to hold me and tell me I was okay, I wanted Farlan to read to me and play with my hair. Hell I even missed Levi and his shitty attitude. Before I could process my emotions I felt a wave of anger crash over me. 

It was all Levi's fault, if he hadn't ordered Isabel and Farlan to do the hit then they would still be with me right now. I balled my fists up at my sides and trembled, I propped myself up, my joints popping in protest. I stumbled onto my feet, a new fire alight in my chest. I would live, only so I could prove that I was strong enough to protect myself. So something like this never happened again. I never wanted to feel this earth-shattering disappointment ever again. So to protect myself from it I would never trust my safety in the hands of anyone's but my own. 

___

Levi winced as he held his thigh as his knee ached. Hange frowned at the captain as a bead of sweat crawled down his neck and disappeared beneath his jacket collar. 

"Levi you should get that checked out." She insisted as she gestured towards his death grip on his own leg. 

"I said it's fine four eyes." Levi growled through gritted teeth as he tried to pay attention to Erwin who was currently examining a list of cadets from the 104th trainee corps. 

"Levi, you can miss this. We'll catch you up later tonight, go get your leg checked out." Erwin ordered without looking up from his work. 

"Tch fine." Levi grunted with effort as he stood, careful to not put too much of his weight on his injured leg. Levi limped down the two flights of stairs to the first floor where the infirmary was located. Although it took some time, he made it. By the time he arrived the ruckus had calmed down, most of the soldiers with grave injuries had already been treated. So he didn't have to wait long for a nurse to approach him and examine his knee. 

"Ah I hate to be the bearer of bad news captain but you've sprained your knee." The nurse cringed as Levi's eyes hardened at the news. 

"How long until I can be back in the field." Levi scoffed as he pulled his pant leg back down. 

"Two weeks." The nurse answered as she finished jotting down the diagnosis on his chart. Then she left him to his thoughts as he pulled his boot back on. Just as he was about to leave, the door burst open and in stormed a loud pair. A girl with wild auburn hair tied back in a messy pony tail, not too different from the way Hange tied her hair back. She was tall and thin, with wild eyes to match her messy hair. Her companion was a shorter boy with a buzz cut and wide amber eyes, like the girl his frame was thin. The pair split and approached the nurses one by one, it wasn't until they reached the nurse that had just seen Levi that he managed to hear what they were asking. 

"Excuse me ma'am, but have you seen a young recruit recently? Blonde hair, big blue eyes, short? Name is Emory?" The boy asked hopefully, Levi tensed at her name, but remained quiet, curious about her answer. 

"Why yes actually, I sent her up to her room." the nurse answered the boy who's expression gleamed at the news. 

"Great thanks miss!" He then turned and jogged to the girl who beamed at the news before the two shot out of the infirmary. Levi stood and tailed the kids, feeling a bit skeptical of the strangers. He followed them all the way to the second floor, where they knocked on a door. 

"Emory are you okay? Do you need anything?" the boy asked as he pressed his ear against the door.

"Yeah I could bring you some water, or maybe some bread?" the girl offered as she knocked again. 

"We're coming in!" the kid said as he slapped a hand over his eyes. The girl rolled her eyes and jammed a key into the door and unlocked the door, she must be one of Emory's roommates. He leaned against the wall as he waited for the pair to reemerge. Sure enough about five minutes later the pair left with somber looks on their faces. 

"I've never seen her like that before." the brunette murmured as she slowly shut the door. The boy nodded in agreement, 

"She seemed really out of it..." he added as they rounded the corner and disappeared down the hall. Levi pushed off the wall he was leaning against the slunk over to the door. He rapped against the oak door and waited for a response. 

"Go away Sasha." Emory's voice sounded gravely and strained. 

"Emory..." Levi cleared his throat as he waited for her response. 

"Not now please." her voice cracked and he frowned. He pushed through the door into the dark room, Emory was curled up underneath a thin quilt, her back to him. 

"Let me see." he sighed sitting down on the end of her bunk. 

"It's fine Levi it's just a scratch." she muttered, pulling the covers up over her face. 

"I'm not leaving until I see your face." he spoke softly even though his patience was running thin. 

"Then you'd better get comfortable because I'm not moving." she grunted, nuzzling deeper into her pillow. 

"Emory..." he brought his hand up to his face, pinching the bridge of his nose in an attempt to slow the ebbing pain in his own head. 

"If you really cared about my well being you wouldn't have left me down there." Her biting remark stunned Levi. The two of them had been dancing around the topic ever since she had joined the scouts. He remained silent, her words cutting deep into his chest as if she had driven a dagger into his heart. 

"You have no idea what I went through" she continued, her eyes welling with tears that he could not see. She was right, he didn't know what she had gone through after he had left her down there. 

"How could you do that to me Levi" she whimpered, her shoulders shaking as she bit back a sob. Levi remained silent, his gaze locked down on his lap as he listened to her soft whimpers. 

"It was so hard without you guys down there. I...was so alone." she had emerged from her blankets, her eyes distant and watery. Levi's chest squeezed painfully at the sight, she was right , he should have known that leaving her was a bad call. But there was nothing he could do to change the past now. 

"If I had known that it was a set up I wouldn't have taken the job." Levi said dully, not sure what he could say to ease the pain Emory was in. 

"Did you not think about me? I was only eleven when you left, you should have known that I wouldn't be able to defend myself." Emory's voice rose in volume as she turned to face him, tears streaming down her face. 

"I did it for your own good, to get citizenship for all of us. I had to make a choice." Levi was getting frustrated, it wasn't like he had wanted to become her guardian, to take on the responsibility of her safety. 

"Was it really? Because look where that got us." Emory snarled, her blue eyes blazing with anger as she stared down Levi who, grit his teeth together, his own stare locked on the bloody bandage wrapped around her head. 

"Like I said, I had to make a call." Levi spoke tensely, trying to refrain from saying anything he would regret. 

"You made the wrong call..." She said with a shaky voice, her watery eyes locked on Levi, who barely stopped himself from agreeing with her. 

"If you'd stayed...then maybe-" her words were cut off with a gut wrenching sob. Levi's eyes widened, of course he'd seen her cry before. It had seemed that when they'd first brought her in all she did was cry. And when they trained, every bump and scratch had made her unleash at least two tears. But this was different, this was something deeper than being knocked around too roughly, than being called a mean name by Isabel or Farlan. 

"Maybe they wouldn't...have done those things to me." Another choked sob wracked her body, her shoulders shaking as she wept. A chill ran through Levi's body, vivid images of his mother crying the same way that Emory was crying now, she only cried that way after one of her clients had been too rough. Or on those cold nights when Levi would be difficult, begging her not to let the strange men into their room. 

"If you'd stayed...I wouldn't-" She stopped when Levi awkwardly placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. She looked at him, her face seemed to have aged at least ten years, no 17 year old should have to wear this expression. 

"I can't change the past" Levi started tensely, Emory's sapphire eyes were ringed with red, from the head trauma and the crying most likely. 

"I like to believe that I live my life with no regrets...but I can say that one of my biggest regrets is leaving you down there and letting Isabel and Farlan die." his voice is thick with a rare show of emotion which makes more tears spill from Emory's eyes. She knew that he couldn't mend the wounds that had already been inflicted, she knew that he couldn't change the past. But that didn't change the deep hurt that had settled in her chest. 

"You can tell me about it if you want, but...I want you to know that I-" the air left his lungs when the small girl leaned forward and wrapped her arms around his abdomen and buried her damp face into the curve of his shoulder. His hands hovered awkwardly over her back as he sat frozen in her tight embrace. Her shoulders shuddered as another violent sob tore through her. Her head felt fuzzy and light, once again she couldn't tell if it was from the concussion or all the crying she was doing. 

"Levi..." her small voice made his heart break, he wasn't used to this. Farlan was always the one to comfort her when she got upset. 

"It was so hard without you guys." she whimpered, her body seemed to go limp, a wave of panic washed over Levi as she slumped against him. He pushed her back to see her eyes screwed shut, he supported her head as he leaned down to listen to the thump of her heart. With a sigh of relief he placed her back onto her pillow, being sure to roll her onto her side in case she got sick. The days events must have finally caught up to her, he thought to himself as he slowly stood from the cramped bunk bed and tucked her under the covers. He made sure the blinds were shut, knowing that she was probably sensitive to the light. With one finally glance, he left her to rest, he had a lot of work to do still, letters to write to the families of the dead. With any luck, they could make their amends on a later date.

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first work on ao3! I have other works on wattpad if you're interested! I plan to post darker works here primarily and fluffier things on wattpad. My username is @biggeststupidhead. I'll try to update regularly (famous last words).


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